California Cancer Reporting System Standards Volume I: Abstracting and Coding Procedures
Accuracy is the extent to which the data submitted has been correctly coded and matches the information in the medical record and have been correctly coded. It encompasses accurate abstracting, correct application of coding rules, text documentation to support codes, and correct entry into and retrieval from the computer.
Both Analytic and Non-analytic cases are included in the accuracy rate and are evaluated using various methods:
The CCR's regional registries perform visual editing on a percentage of the abstracts submitted by reporting facilities. Feedback is provided to reporting facilities on the results of visual editing.
A visual editing accuracy rate was established at 97% in January 2000. This rate applies to cancer reporting facilities and not to individual cancer registry abstractors. The reporting facility is responsible for cancer reporting requirements, not specific individuals; therefore, an accuracy rate reflects the facility's compliance with regulations. Please refer to the CCR web site at: http://www.ccrcal.org/Cancer_Reporting/Registrar_Resources/Visual_Editing_Standards.html, for the current list of visually edited data items.
Computer Edits:
Computer edits are also used to assess the quality of data submitted. The CCR provides a standard set of edits for abstracting software. These edits are performed on data at the time of abstracting. The measure used to evaluate accuracy is the percent of a facility's cases that fail an edit. CCR's cases must pass the inter-field edits specified in Cancer Reporting in California: Data Standards for Regional Registries and California Cancer Registry (California Cancer Reporting System Standards, Volume III).
The CCR's edit set contains a number of edits that require review. After review and confirmation that the abstracted information is correct, a flag must be set so that repeated review is not necessary and a case can be set to complete. Please follow the instructions provided by your facility’s abstracting software vendor for using these flags.
The Central Registry is committed to ensuring high quality data in the database. Business Rules have been implemented in the database to evaluate coded data fields based on pre-determined criteria and then auto-correct miscoded data field(s) based on programmed criteria. These rules have been developed by CTRs at the Central Registry and have been rigorously tested prior to implementation.
Re-Abstracting Audits:
Another method of assessing accuracy is to re-abstract cases in the facilities. A sample of cases from each facility is re-abstracted by specially trained personnel. The measure used is the number of discrepancies found in related categories of items.