Focused on the patient - Baylor Health Care System

<strong>Focused</strong> on quality 21Every day, physicians and staff seek quality; they strivefor excellence. But it has always proven useful to take astep back, review data, and see what else may be done.This section describes the efforts of Baylor SammonsCancer Center’s cancer registry in 2007. It also providescancer registry statistics for the year 2006 and a patientcare evaluation study for endometrial cancer.Cancer Registryby Laura Siciliano, RN, OCNIn July 2007, the cancer registry reporting relationship was moved from Health InformationManagement to the Baylor Sammons Cancer Center. This realignment supported additionalstaffing allowing for a dedicated manager and supervisor giving depth and experience tothe department. Goals and initiatives were refocused on accurate abstracting, efficient casefinding, and timely follow-up.Laura SicilianoContinued education being the key factor in our ability to meet our goals, the cancer registrystaff began participating in the ongoing hospital registry webinar educational series conductedby the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Focusing on qualityand continued education, the Baylor Sammons Cancer Center hosted “The Value of QualityData: Focus on Breast Cancer” seminar on November 30, 2007 with an attendance ofapproximately 50 cancer registry staff from across Texas.A cancer registry task force determined after extensive research and data system comparisons,that it would be beneficial to convert our cancer registry data to Electronic RegistrySystem (ERS). The conversion to ERS in July of 2007 has increased registry efficiencythrough an automated case finding process via the disease index, flexible reporting andfollow-up programs.Facing page: R. PickettScruggs, MD, Janet Reynolds,CTR, and Laura Siciliano, RN,at work on the cancer registryreports.Summary of 2006 Cancer Registry Databy R. Pickett Scruggs, MDDuring reporting year 2006, the cancer registry at Baylor Dallas abstracted 3,146 analyticalcases (in which patient were first diagnosed or initially treated at Baylor Dallas). TexasOncology, PA, housed at the Baylor Sammons Cancer Center, saw an estimated 4,000additional new cases as outpatients. Therefore the combined total of new cancer caseswas more than 7,000. Baylor’s numbers represent an increase of 201 cases (7%) from theprevious reporting year of 2005.Dr. Pickett Scruggs