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- CAP Recommends Integrating CAP Cancer Protocols into ONC Cancer Registry
On September 23, CAP recommended integrating data elements from CAP Cancer Protocols in the US Core Data for Interoperability Plus (USCDI+) Cancer Registry use case, which is the minimum dataset needed to support the current data sharing approaches for cancer registry data. The CAP promoted the CAP Cancer Protocols to the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ASTP) as a solution that can help with cancer registry reporting and standardization.
For more than 30 years, the CAP Cancer Protocols have provided structure for consistent and meaningful information that enables health care professionals to manage and study clinical data for improved patient care. Using the CAP Cancer Protocols in the USCDI+ Cancer Registry domain would help ensure that all pathology reports contain necessary data elements to improve patient care.
Federal agencies, such as the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have noted their strong recommendation that implementers adhere to the CAP Cancer Protocols when meeting pathology reporting requirements. In a comment letter to the ASTP, the CAP recommended:
- Real-time data reporting that meets quality standards and remains usable for clinical, public health, and research purposes.
- Data elements that could significantly impact the efficiency and accuracy of data collection if they were better specified or constrained.
- Guidance about vocabulary criteria or references to information exchange specifications that would help map the data elements currently used to these USCDI+ Cancer Registry data elements.
The CAP looks forward to working with the ASTP to support high quality laboratory operations and medical care.