May 2002
Highlights for the month:
Enter to Win a Free Copy of FORDS at NCRA
Don't forget to stop by the CoC booth during the NCRA meeting. Our staff will be on hand to answer your FORDS and Collaborative Stage questions as well as to demonstrate our new NCDB Benchmark Reports and FIPS systems. You can preview a copy of FORDS and enter a raffle to win a FREE copy upon publication. Simply drop your business card in our raffle bowl, and we'll draw one lucky name each day. We'll also have 250 complimentary copies of the new publication Comparison Guide: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual Fifth Versus Sixth Edition. So stop by early and stop by often to ask questions, enter our drawing, or get a free Comparison Guide.
Highlights
CoC Annual Meetings Information and Slide Presentations Now Online
Information and PowerPoint presentations from sessions held during the CoC Annual Meetings in Chicago, April 19-12, are online at http://www.facs.org/dept/cancer/coc/coc2002meeting.html.
We encourage you to take a look at the material and share the information about the CoC's current initiatives with your colleagues and cancer program team.
Highlights
CoC Seeks Comments Regarding Proposed Changes to Cancer Program Standards
A workgroup recently completed its first draft of proposed changes to the cancer program standards found in "Standards of the Commission on Cancer Volume I: Cancer Program Standards," published in 1996. We seek your input on these proposed changes. On our Web site at http://www.facs.org/dept/cancer/coc/coc2002meeting.html, you'll find an introduction explaining the reasons behind the changes, a PowerPoint slide presentation outlining the proposed standards revisions and an implementation time line, and a questionnaire that we'd like you to complete and return via fax. Your feedback is important to us. Comments are being solicited through May 31st at which time they will be consolidated and shared with the workgroup for consideration and discussion as the revision process moves forward. Thank you for taking the time to assist us with this important initiative.
Highlights
American College of Surgeons Responds to DHHS regarding HIPAA
The American College of Surgeons' Division of Advocacy and Health Policy sent a response on April 26, 2002, to the Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) with regard to the March 27, 2002 proposed regulations concerning provider requirements under the privacy portion of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The letter expressed the following:
- The College agrees with the modifications to the provision that permits expanded disclosures for treatment and health care operations.
- The College asks for clarification about the use of an electronic signature for assigning a contractual relationship between the hospitals and the Commission on Cancer.
- The College supports the DHHS' proposal to allow greater latitude in what will be considered de-identified information.
We are pleased to see the provision that allows one covered entity to disclose protected health information to another covered entity for specified health care operations, provided both entities have a relationship with the patient. That provision should significantly aid in the collection of follow-up information on cancer cases. The College is also pleased to see the proposal to expand release of a limited data set. We ask that DHHS allow the inclusion of admission, discharge and service dates, date of death, age, and a five-digit zip code, as these variables are critical to improving the quality of cancer care. The waiver of patient authorization for research purposes is also important if we are to conduct legitimate research vital to improving health outcomes. Lastly, the College has taken a stand in support of the final, proposed rule that would exempt providers from "incidental disclosures" of patient information that can occur during the provision of care.
To read a full text copy of the letter, go to the link on our News and Events Web page at http://www.facs.org/dept/cancer/cannews.html.
Highlights
To Subscribe to CoC Flash
CoC Flash is e-mailed automatically each month to individuals for whom the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has an e-mail address. If you wish to continue to receive the newsletter on a monthly basis, you need do nothing. You can discontinue your subscription by writing to coc@facs.org and requesting that your name be deleted from the database. Individuals not currently receiving the newsletter may subscribe to the publication by sending an e-mail containing your name, address, telephone and fax numbers to coc@facs.org, and asking to be added to our electronic distribution database.
To Submit Information
CoC Flash will accept submissions received by the third week of each month. However, the CoC reserves the right to decide whether or not the materials are appropriate for inclusion. Information for CoC Flash should be timely, newsworthy, brief, and of use and interest to the constituents of the Commission, which include cancer registrars, liaison physicians, cancer committee chairs, and other cancer-oriented health care professionals. To submit material, send it to coc@facs.org.
The Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to reducing the morbidity and mortality of cancer through education, standard setting, and the monitoring of quality care. CoC Flash is a monthly news service for constituents of the CoC provided by the Commission and the Cancer Program of the American College of Surgeon
CoC Flash
Commission on Cancer
