NCDB News
FORDS: Revised for 2011 is Available
FORDS: Revised for 2011 was posted at the end of December at http://www.facs.org/cancer/coc/fordsmanual.html. Like the recent revisions, the electronic file is enabled for commenting, highlighting, and note-taking. The bookmarks can be used for quick navigation, and searches enable easy browsing to find all topic references.
The list of items that must be completed to assign Date Case Completed--CoC was modified to clarify that Class of Case 00 and 20-22 must have an applicable facility NPI number or at least one physician NPI number. This clarification also applies to cases diagnosed in 2010, and may make case clearance easier for some programs.
Eight data items were eliminated, and will not be required by CoC for cases diagnosed beginning in 2011. They may, however, be required by state or regional central registries or the registry software. Seven new Collaborative Stage site-specific factors for four separate schema are required for cases diagnosed in 2011 or in any diagnosis year if the case was coded or modified in the CS version 02.03.xx.
A new site-specific surgery code for breast primaries was added for use when bilateral surgery is performed for bilateral inflammatory carcinoma. Required ICD-10-CM code ranges have been added for coding co-morbidities and complications.
The state code used to identify patients who live in Canada, but whose specific province is unknown, was corrected from “CN” to “CD”. Registries should correct any cases with the erroneous “CN” codes in their registries.
A large number of other changes were made for clarification. Registries should review the Preface and Appendix C to familiarize yourself with changes since the previous FORDS update.
NCDB Call for Data: January, February, March
The deadline for initial National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) submission of all analytic cases diagnosed in 2009 and certain cases diagnosed in 1998 is midnight January 31 (Central Time). The submission window will close for the month of February. Below we explain what happens next, under a variety of conditions.
- The 1998 required cases are analytic cases diagnosed in 1998 that were changed or updated by the registrar on or after July 1, 2009. To submit these cases, your program’s Reference Date should be 1998 or earlier; cases diagnosed prior to the program’s Reference Date will be rejected. 1998 cases that have not been changed or updated since July 1, 2009, will be accepted. Most software will automatically identify the cases to be submitted.
- Registries have until May 31, 2011, to correct and resubmit any edit errors in the 2009 cases for compliance with Standard 3.7. Rejected cases from either year must be resubmitted by the same date.
- The NCDB submission window will be closed during February to complete processing of cases submitted in January. It will reopen on March 1 for submission of cases diagnosed in 2008 and 2003 that were changed on or after July 1, 2009 (The cases diagnosed in 1998, 2003 and 2008 were all part of the fall 2009 data submission cycle). Corrections for cases diagnosed in 1998 and 2009 are welcome at that time.
- A new Web page for tracking Call for Data submissions will be posted in Datalinks in the near future; the link will appear under the “National Cancer Data Base Data Transmission” label. The new page will show when each diagnosis year is due, the processing status and number of cases requiring further attention for each file, the cumulative status of cases submitted and requiring further attention, and the future timing of 2011 submission requirements.
- You will receive an automated notification when your submission is made to NCDB. It will be sent before the file is opened and simply serves as an acknowledgement that the submission was received. It is a good idea to retain this notification.
- You will receive a second automated notification when your submission has been processed and edited with the number of cases for each diagnosis year, the number of cases with edit problems, and the number of rejected cases. It is recommended that you retain this notification at least until all surveys through 2015 have been resolved.
- Edit reports will continue to be available in DataLinks; click “History and Edits of Patient Level Data Submission to the NCDB” under “National Cancer Data Base Data Transmission.” This Web site is organized with the most recently received files posted first. Selecting “Details” will provide edit information and a site by stage summary of cases in each file by diagnosis year, and a report for Clinical Checks for cases diagnosed in 2009.
Comprehensive Call for Data information is posted online at http://www.facs.org/cancer/ncdb/registrars.html. Contact ncdb@facs.org if you have further questions.
Online January 18, 2011