ONCOLOGY DATA SPECIALIST

Forrest General Hospital•Hattiesburg, MS

About The Position

The Oncology Data Specialist (ODS-C), previously known as a Certified Tumor Registrar, supports activities of the Cancer Registry and assists physicians and cancer committee members. The role involves identifying and entering new cancer cases, researching patients’ electronic medical records, and completing and maintaining cancer registry abstracts in METRIQ and WebPlus. Abstract information includes demographics, primary site and histology/morphology, laterality, social habits, comorbidities, prognostic factors, clinical and pathological AJCC staging, SEER Summary Stage, diagnostic procedures, and cancer treatments. The ODS records physician contacts and follow-up plans, enters supporting text, and adds information from physician-completed staging forms. The ODS processes case-finding, suspense, follow-up, incomplete-information, deficiency, and episode records; reviews pathology reports; orders and assigns staging forms; and monitors registry flags and patient lists. The role also handles follow-up correspondence, expired-patient reports, annual death-clearance cases, and outsourced case finding and abstraction for Highland Community Hospital. The ODS supports cancer conference preparation, quality studies, special studies, reporting and submissions, helps train new employees, and assists internal and external customers. Other duties may be assigned. The ODS must communicate and interact appropriately with patients, families, visitors, colleagues, physicians, and other facilities, showing sensitivity to cultural and religious beliefs. The role requires confidentiality, ethical handling of registry data, initiative, and the ability to manage repetitive work and frequent interruptions.

Requirements

High school diploma required.
Computer experience required.
Eligible for Cancer and Tumor Registrar / Oncology Data Specialist certification, with certification required under the stated conditions and timeframe.
If the employee has only one year of Cancer Registry experience, certification must be obtained by taking and passing the exam within a maximum of 36 months of employment at the registry.
Cancer Registrar certification requirements include an NCRA-approved Cancer Information Management Associate’s degree, or completion of an NCRA-accredited formal education program and at least an associate’s degree or equivalent (four semesters/six quarters).
Ability to perform repetitive tasks, cooperate with others, and concentrate despite frequent interruptions.
Ability to deal compassionately with patients and family members in person or by phone.
Ability to listen, visualize, and interpret information.
Ability to uphold hospital confidentiality policies and the cancer registrar code of ethics to protect the integrity, accuracy, and completeness of collected data.
Demonstrated initiative and ability to research electronic medical records and perform daily, monthly, and yearly ODS duties.

Nice To Haves

College degree preferred.
Two years of experience in an office setting preferred.
Health information or comparable medical background preferred.
Cancer Registry background or willingness to learn Cancer Registry principles and practices preferred.
Cancer and Tumor Registrar certification within one year of employment preferred.

Responsibilities

Accession new cancer cases and abstract cases using the patient’s electronic medical record and cancer registry databases.
Research and enter case demographics, primary site, histology/morphology, laterality, social habits, comorbidities, prognostic factors, staging, diagnostic procedures, and treatment information.
Enter physician contacts, follow-up plans, and supporting text in the abstract.
Enter information from physician-completed TNM and stage-group forms into the database.
Process monthly case-finding and follow-up lists, including suspense, Hattiesburg Clinic follow-up review, and incomplete diagnostic/treatment information lists.
Review daily pathology reports for tumor cases and enter new cases into METRIQ as suspense cases.
Process pathology reports in the suspense file and order staging forms; order forms for abstracts when needed and assign them to managing physicians for completion.
Monitor and update deficiency queues and episodes.
Run and update the cancer registry flag in EPIC monthly for patients.
Conduct monthly batch mailings of follow-up letters and process returned letters daily.
Run monthly expired-patient reports in EPIC and the Radiation Oncology query wizard.
Perform outsourced case finding using ICD-10 tumor codes and abstract cases in WebPlus, researching each case in EPIC.
Process death-clearance cases annually.
Assist with cancer conference setup and preparation and support other team members, including training new employees.
Assist with quality studies, CoC special studies, CP3R data, Rapid Quality Reporting System, and NCDB submissions.
Respond to information requests from internal and external customers, including physicians, cancer registries, research and informatics staff, and other facilities.
Perform other duties as assigned.