Complying with state and accreditation requirements by submitting oncology patient abstracts has long been viewed by many hospitals as a necessary cost center activity. Savvy institutions, however, have leveraged the data collected in the existing registry abstraction process to better understand the needs of the communities they serve and the treatments provided to improve patient care and drive revenue generation.
Some of the parameters they study include:
- Existing service utilization – What are the trends in services provided? Is utilization increasing or decreasing? Are there more efficient ways to manage staffing and capital expenditures to serve the needs?
- Referrals from and to other facilities – Are there services that referral partners offer that the facility can efficiently provide to consolidate patient care within the facility offering patient convenience and driving revenue?
- The impact of COVID-19 – What are the emerging impacts of the disease on patients? Do vaccination status or disease recovery play a role in timing, duration, or outcome? Has there been an impact on patient caseload as routine screenings may be delayed because of the disease?
- Telehealth impact – Many consultative services traditionally conducted in person are now provided virtually. Are telehealth services provided by facility? Has adoption been strong? How has that changed patient care?
While this list isn’t exhaustive, there are several registry data characteristics that make full utilization possible:
- Accurate abstraction – Facilities must be able to trust the data abstracted; major decisions can be made with reliable information.
- Timely data – The data needs to be recent. Hospitals with large registry backlogs are unable to produce reports on a timely basis.
- Quick reporting – If registry data is current, facilities need to quickly generate the reports desired. Cumbersome reporting processes which delay information can reduce its value.
- Flexibility – To provide robust information, the registry may need to provide specific information that the facility seeks. While much of that information may already be required by the standard setters, some of it may be custom data collection.
Hiring talented CTRs and Registry Management is a major influence on the accuracy and timeliness of the data, but registry software can also play a big impact on data value:
- Accuracy – Thoughtful user experience and workflow design can reduce input errors. Additionally, some software products offer AI assistance that can reinforce correct user inputs.
- Timeliness – Software that can keep current with standard-setter requirements will not delay abstraction or create backlogs.
- Ease of reporting – Robust standard reports and easy report customization can quickly get information into the hands of those who need it most.
- Flexibility – Software that can easily be adapted to capture custom data requirements will let facilities focus in on the information most valuable for their unique community needs.
KACI® (Knowledge Assistant for Clinical Information), NeuralFrame Inc.’s oncology data management software, was built to enhance value to cancer facilities. In addition to providing features and functions that maximize data value to facilities, KACI is SOC 2 audited, an attestation that the software meets the rigorous security standards of the AICPA.
To learn more about KACI and how it can bring value to your cancer registry, contact Julie Bodnar at Julie.bodnar@neuralframe.com