In healthcare organizations across the country there is a specialized group of professionals working to gather comprehensive information from cancer patients on all aspects of their disease and compile it into an information system known as a cancer registry.
These professionalscalled cancer registrarsare data management experts who work closely with physicians, administrators, researchers, and health care planners to provide support for cancer program development, ensure compliance of reporting standards, and serve as a valuable resource for cancer information with the ultimate goal of preventing and controlling cancerthe second leading cause of death in the US according to the National Institutes of Health. The cancer registrar is involved in managing and analyzing clinical cancer information for the purpose of education, research, and outcome measurement.
The information cancer registrars collect is not limited to the episodic information contained in the healthcare facility record. Cancer registrars bridge the information gap by capturing a complete summary of a patients diseasefrom diagnosis through their lifetime. In addition to managing and reporting cancer data, registrars serve in multiple other professional activitiesproviding benchmarking services, monitoring quality of care and clinical practice guidelines, assessing patterns of care and referrals, and monitoring adverse outcomes including mortality and comorbidity.
Many educational opportunities exist for those wanting to enter the field. Cancer data management is taught at colleges around the country. And, in addition to formal “bricks and mortar” schools, convenient online education options are also available for those who want to make a career transition while working on their own schedule and pace. Web-based learning programs offer students flexibility, allowing them to complete coursework from anywhere with just a computer and an Internet connection.
A new online program in cancer registry is now offered by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), in conjunction with the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA). The Web-based
Cancer Registry Management Program is custom tailored to provide the information needed to enter the profession. Once approved by the NCRA formal education committee, the program will completely satisfy the NCRA requirements to sit for the National Tumor Registrar (CTR) exam. “Quality cancer data is central to the nations cancer prevention and treatment efforts,” stated Sandy Fuller, MA, RHIA, executive vice president and COO of AHIMA. “The
Cancer Registry Management Program offers the proper basic education training needed for beginning Cancer Registrars or those interested in the entering the Cancer Registration field.”
The program consists of four prerequisite courses (Anatomy and Physiology, Computer Basics in Healthcare, Medical Terminology, and Pathophysiology/Pharmacology); six specialty courses (Cancer Registry Structure and Management, Cancer Registry Operations, Cancer Disease Coding and Staging, Oncology Treatment and Coding, Abstracting Methods, Follow-up, Data Quality, and Utilization); and fulfilling professional practice requirements. The
Cancer Registry Management Program is offered through AHIMAs Continuing Education and Training Web site.
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