Cancer

Population-based cancer surveillance is critical in North America for cancer control activities aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of cancer, the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer reporting from ambulatory providers to state cancer registries is a new public health objective for Stage 2 Meaningful Use. Reporting to cancer registries by healthcare providers would address current underreporting of cancer, especially certain types. In the past most cancers were diagnosed and/or treated in a hospital setting and data were primarily collected from this source. However, medical practice is changing rapidly and an increasing number of cancer cases are never seen in a hospital. Data collection from providers presents new challenges since the infrastructure for reporting is less mature than it is in hospitals. Certified EHR Technology can address this barrier by identifying reportable cancer cases and treatments to the provider and facilitating electronic reporting either automatically or upon verification by the provider.

Implementation Guide for Ambulatory Healthcare Provider Reporting to Central Cancer Registries August 2012

For further Cancer related information refer to the CDC National Program of Cancer Registries website at: http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/npcr/meaningful_use.htm