Recap of the Oklahoma Cancer Registrars Association
Educational Workshop at St. Francis Hospital
Laureate Conference Center
Tulsa, Oklahoma
October 19th & 20th, 2017
Submitted by Beth Verrette, BS, RHIA, CTR – I had the privilege of attending the Oklahoma Cancer Registrars Association annual educational conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There were several great presentations but the one that caught my attention the most was titled “Discrete Data Items (DDI) for 2018” presented by Dulce Bramblett. Dulce disclosed that the information included in the presentation was still in the draft phase and subject to change.
This topic was very interesting and registrars should make sure they are fully aware of and educated on the upcoming changes that are pending implementation; this is critical to ensure the integrity of the data.
Dulce’s presentation explained that the SSDI Taskforce is a group of representatives that are evaluating the current structure of the Site Specific Factors (SSFs). They are responsible for reviewing the codes, revising the codes, and also making recommendations for changes. The SSFs will be referred to as SSDI as of 1/1/2018. SSDI stands for Site Specific Data Items. The codes and coding instructions will be available on the NAACCR website. A coding manual similar to CS Part 1 is currently being developed for the SSDIs. A SSDI forum will also be added to the Canswer Forum.
The SSFs tend to be confusing in regards to decimal placement, recording of actual values, percentages, and ranges. Even recording the different definitions of “unknown” can be quite confusing. With the implementation of the SSDI’s, the length of the data items will be dependent on the highest value recommended by AJCC 8th edition. We should see the data items and values be more consistent with every primary site.
Don’t forget: All SSFs will need to be entered for cases diagnosed between 2004 & 2017. These fields will be based on the date of diagnosis, not the date that the case was abstracted.
In addition to the implementation of the SSDI’s, the grade data items are also being reviewed. Rather than selecting one grade per abstract, it has been proposed to collect three. The three grades would include: clinical grade, pathological grade, and post-therapy grade. Please note that the new grade data items are still being developed. The grade coding instructions from 2014 will no longer be used for cases diagnosed 1/1/2018+. The new grade data items will incorporate chapter specific grading systems and also allow for coding of the grade at different points of the patient’s care.
In summary, these proposed changes are just some of the exciting changes that we will see for the 2018 cases. It is very important for all registrars to be very cautious and review their manuals and resources while abstracting the 2018 cases.
Registry Partners raffled off two Visa gift cards and we would like to Congratulate the lucky winners!
Congratulations to Christy Dabbs
Congratulations to Delores Green