On September 12 & 13, 2019, Registry Partners had the privilege of participating as a vendor sponsor at the Louisiana Cancer Registrars Association (LCRA) Annual Education Conference hosted at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Lafayette, Louisiana. This two-day event provided a variety of presentations and great networking opportunities.
The conference was kicked off by a meet and greet exercise led by Jessica Despino, RHIA, CTR. She challenged everyone to meet someone new, which was in line with the conference’s theme of Facing the Future—Together, as it encouraged everyone to stay connected and support one another in our ever-changing profession.
The first day continued with expert registry speakers including Cynthia Boudreaux, LPN, CTR who dove into Breast Cancer Coding Changes and Radiation Therapy Coding. Mary Davidson, MN, BSN, RN, CTR followed with Solid Tumor Rules for Colon Cancer.
At the business luncheon, Registry Partners’ own Courtney Jagneaux, RHIA, CTR, also President of LCRA, recognized three new CTRs in attendance: Anna Bernard, Sadie Camel, and Paula Franklin. Cora Spain, CTR and Lauren Barnett, CTR from Registry Partners were also in attendance serving as LCRA Secretary, and Nominating Chair.
Jill Zeswitz, BSIT, CTR with C/NET Solutions was recognized as the 2019 LCRA Distinguished Member for her contributions to the association and cancer registry profession. Congratulations to Jill!
Day one continued with three physician guest speakers. Dr. Steven Saccaro, Medical Oncologist and Hematologist, gave an information-packed presentation reviewing Multiple Myeloma. Dr. William Mullen, Interventional Radiologist, spiked everyone’s interest with his introduction to Yittrium-90 therapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer. Dr. Jason Breaux, Surgical Oncologist, ended the day of presentations with The Surgical Management of Colorectal Cancer.
Brigitte Shows, ASRT, CTR started day two off with a bang, as she challenged attendees with an interactive Heme Case Bootcamp. Registry Partners Quality Manager, Lauren Barnett, CTR, continued the day “Breaking Down the Rules” for SSDIs providing clarifications to general coding rules and working through case examples.
The Louisiana Tumor Registry (LTR) shared three great presentations. Dr. Xiao-Cheng Wu, MD, MPH, CTR, LTR Director shared plans for the future of Louisiana’s outstanding tumor registry working to reduce the burden of cancer in Louisiana. MeiChin Hsieh, PhD, MSPH, CTR shared results of a recent casefinding audit, explaining to hospital registrars why they might be missing cases. Lauren Maniscalco, MPH demonstrated an incredible Data Visualization Tool currently in the works for the LTR. This tool will make Cancer Registry Data in Louisiana available to anyone, in an easy to read format, and will provide cancer statistics such as prevalence and incidence.
The conference was concluded by a CoC Breakout Session with Registry Partner’s own Courtney Jagneaux, RHIA, CTR, who provided a Survival Guide to NCDB Tools. The presentation focused on best practices and uses of all available NCDB tools. This included tips and tricks in customizing Hospital Comparison Benchmark Report displays and RQRS Drill Down Reports.
A big congratulations to the Registry Partners Raffle Prize Winner, Danielle Ritchie.
Overall, the conference was excellent. Thank you to all who visited our vendor exhibit!