Can Oncology Practice Claims Data Replace Physician Reporting to State Cancer Registries?

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cancer Epidemiology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Linking Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program claims data with cancer registry data is a recent development.
• Physician reporting to cancer registries poses a burden on oncology practices.
• The study investigates if claims data can substitute for physician reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential data loss if oncology practices cease reporting abstracted data to the New York State Cancer Registry.
• To compare the characteristics of cancers reported solely by oncology practices versus those reported by multiple sources.
• To assess the overlap between oncology practice reports and claims data.

Main Methods:

• Identified 3,224 malignant tumors diagnosed in 2017 and reported by three oncology practices.
• Determined the proportion of cases reported exclusively by these practices.
• Utilized Match*Pro to link practice-reported cases to claims data and assessed claims data availability.

Main Results:

• 7.2% (233 cases) of tumors were reported solely by the oncology practices.
• Solely reported cases were more likely to be older, non-Hispanic White, and less likely to be a first reportable cancer, early stage, or treated.
• Only 2.1% (5 cases) of solely reported tumors were not found in claims data.

Conclusions:

• Most oncology practice-reported cancers are captured by other sources or claims data.
• Exclusive reliance on claims data would lead to missing data and some unreported cancers.
• Findings can inform optimized oncology practice reporting requirements, balancing data completeness with automated data acquisition.