Monmouth Medical Oncology Data Center
A Compendium of Clinical Information
Following standards established by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer and Guided by Monmouth Medical Center’s Cancer Committee, the Oncology Data Center is responsible for obtaining an accurate and timely account of all cancer patients diagnosed and/or treated at Monmouth Medical Center.
As the official repository of information on Monmouth’s cancer patient population, the registry collects, compiles and reports this data to allow for the comprehensive evaluation of patient outcomes and the identification of opportunities for improvement.
Registration
Three full-time and 1 part-time cancer registrars – three of whom are certified by the National Cancer Registrars Association – perform case abstracting of the patient record. In this gatekeeper role, they ensure compliance with regulatory agency standards and encourage interdepartmental and physician use of registry data.
Abstracts compiled for each patient diagnosed and/or treated at Monmouth Medical Center included patient demographics, medical history, occupational exposures, diagnostic findings, diagnosis, cancer treatment, disease staging and lifetime follow-up.
The electronically stored data is submitted to the New Jersey State Cancer Registry, which collects data on all cancer cases diagnosed and treated in the state, and to the National Cancer Data Base for comparative analysis with more than 1,400 Commission on Cancer-approved cancer programs in the United States.
Oncology Data Center provides analytic patients with annual follow-ups for a lifetime – ongoing surveillance whose goal is to encourage patients to undergo routine medical examinations and to promote the early detection of a possible recurrence or a new primary malignancy.
Staff in Oncology Data Center assists physicians, administrators and other health care professionals in research efforts by responding to all requests for data that will monitor, improve, and evaluate patient care and survival trends. Accurate and meaningful data are verified through extensive quality control checks performed by the cancer committee and physicians involved in each case.
The registry’s computerized database is an invaluable resource for the assessment of treatment patterns, complications, cancer recurrence and survival among cancer patients at Monmouth Medical Center. This information provides caregivers with a statistical roadmap and chronological timeline that assists in the coordination of care.
Utilization of this data contributes to the effectiveness of overall patient care and encourages continued and frequent use of the database. In accordance with standards established by the Commission on Cancer and Monmouth Medical Center, quality and performance improvement indicator studies were conducted to ensure accuracy in abstracting, and physician documentation of the disease stage and the first course of treatment.
Data also are reported to state and national agencies, such as the N.J. Department of Health and Senior Services, National Cancer Institute, National Comprehensive Cancer Network and American Cancer Society, which maintains statistical databases for analytical and research purposes.
The staff in Oncology Data Center is also responsible for planning and coordinating Tumor Board Conferences and actively participates in the quarterly Cancer Committee Meetings.
