How to Access FIPS Online
Access to the FIPS Web application is automatically granted to designated cancer program staff including the cancer registrar, cancer committee chair, cancer liaison physician, and cancer program administrator. Staff at CoC-accredited cancer programs manages FIPS information through CoC Datalinks, which is a secure, password-protected section of the CoC Web site. Learn more about the system at What is CoC Datalinks.
Access to CoC Datalinks is available from the Commission on Cancer home page. Within CoC Datalinks, each user enters an assigned personal user ID and password. The user will be prompted to change the password immediately (and every nine months afterward) for security purposes. FIPS is just one of the applications to which users from CoC-accredited cancer programs have access through CoC Datalinks.
Information Entered into FIPS
Level I Data
In FIPS, Level I data provide information about the resources and services that CoC-accredited cancer programs offer to cancer patients and their families either on-site or by referral.
FIPS has 12 pages of Level I data to be completed, which are presented in a check-list format for accuracy and speed of entry.
Level I data items include:
- hospital contact information
- hospital affiliations
- types of physicians
- diagnostic imaging services
- surgical procedures
- radiation oncology services
- medical oncology services
- rehabilitation services
- supportive services
- prevention programs
- screening and early detection programs
- research activities
Although one person usually enters and updates the collected information from the hospital, the user may need to contact Medical Administration or Physician Services for some information needed to complete several of the requested fields. Once all pages within FIPS are completed, the information should be verified and approved by the facility’s cancer committee.
These Level I data about your cancer program’s resources and services are automatically shared with the American Cancer Society (ACS) on its Web site and through its National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) (1-800-ACS-2345).
Level II Data
Each year, your hospital’s annual cancer caseload, or Level II data that was submitted to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), is posted to FIPS in a site/stage distribution (Level II data) table, which lists the number of cancer cases diagnosed and treated at your hospital.
Submitted Level II data are posted by the CoC in FIPS within a few months after the NCDB submission deadline. Key cancer program staff will receive an e-mail notification once the most current year of Level II data are posted. The Level II data are accessible from your hospital’s Activity Menu in CoC Datalinks and within the FIPS application. The link is titled “Cases Reported to the NCDB by Site and Stage.”
Upon receipt of this notification:
- The data must be reviewed by your facility for accuracy.
- The cancer committee must discuss the option of whether or not to share the data with the public through the ACS Web site.
- After the caseload data is reviewed for accuracy and discussed, the cancer committee must indicate whether or not the hospital has decided to release the information to the ACS. Even if your hospital chooses not to release this data, it must act to indicate the decision by clicking on the appropriate button within FIPS.
Annual Caseload Window
If the Level II data are approved and released, an “Annual Caseload” link will appear on the ACS Web site. When the Annual Caseload link is selected, a pop-up box describing Annual Caseload appears. A click on Annual Caseload from the pop-up box takes you to the data table, which contains additional descriptive information to enhance the public’s understanding of the data.
If your hospital chooses to release the data, an optional, free-text section is provided above the cancer caseload data table to describe the unique strengths and features of the cancer program.
Each time a new year of caseload data are submitted to the NCDB, this Level II data table is updated. Therefore, the data your hospital submits during the Annual Call for Data will replace the previous year’s data table.
How to Release Level II Data through FIPS
To release Level II data, enter CoC Datalinks. Enter your personal user ID and password. The Activity Menu page will appear for your hospital. Click on the FIPS link titled “Level II Cases Reported to the NCDB by Site and Stage.” A disclaimer page will appear regarding the data. Click “Accept” and the most current year’s data table will appear. A notification at the top of this page will indicate if any action is needed or if the hospital has released these data already. Remember, every hospital or network must indicate a decision to release Level II data EVERY YEAR.
If the cancer committee chooses to release Level II data to the ACS, the committee representative should complete the free text section describing the cancer program, and then select Accurate Release to ACS. The data table will be displayed on the ACS Web site within 24 hours.
If the data are inaccurate and/or the cancer committee decides against releasing the data, there is an option to select either Accurate Do Not Release to ACS or Inaccurate Do Not Release to ACS. Please share with the CoC your issues and concerns related to the decision to not release these Level II data by e-mailing us at FIPS@facs.org.
In either case, the CoC requires that the cancer committee review the Level II data table and designate a choice at the top of the page.
Sharing Level II Data is Important
Cancer patients and their loved ones are making smarter choices about their cancer care. Beyond services available at local hospitals, patients are interested in a hospital’s experience in treating a particular type of cancer and they choose hospitals based on both the scope of services and the quality of care he or she can expect to receive. By presenting your hospital’s data online, your CoC-accredited cancer program has a unique opportunity to present your high-quality program to someone seeking care.
How to Keep Your Program Profile Up-to-date
The CoC encourages hospitals to update FIPS Level I data at least twice a year. The public views only completed fields in FIPS, so if an item is incomplete, the viewer may assume the hospital cancer program does not offer this service. Any modifications made are reflected on the ACS Web site within 24 hours to keep your hospital data as current as possible.
For Level II data, each time a new year of caseload data are submitted to the NCDB, your Level II data table is updated. The information your hospital submits during the Annual Call for Data will replace the previous year’s data table. An e-mail notification will advise you when the data are available for review and release.
FIPS Tips: Training Guide
A complete training guide for FIPS data entry and maintenance can be found here FIPS Tips Training Guide (840K PDF) and within the FIPS section of the CoC Datalinks Activity Menu.
For more information
For questions regarding FIPS, please e-mail FIPS@facs.org. For questions about access to CoC DataLinks, user IDs, and passwords, please e-mail CoCDatalinks@facs.org.
Revised March 6, 2008
FIPS
Commission on Cancer
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