Health Department Begins to Require Cancer Reporting

The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) is starting to enforce cancer reporting regulations, which includes reporting cases of cancer by health care practitioners.

Hematologists and oncologists are the first specialists the DOH is focusing on; letters were sent out in August as a reminder of the reporting obligation. 

A reporting manual and instructions will be mailed to each practice, and Pennsylvania Cancer Registry (PCR) staff will follow up with a phone call to review the information and answer any questions.

Reporting elements include: demographic information on the patient, type of cancer, stage of cancer, and the first course of treatment.

Hospitals and laboratories were first required to begin reporting cancer to the state in 1980. The law was later changed to include reporting by health care providers to ensure complete statewide cancer data collection.

For more information, call Wendy Aldinger at the DOH at (717) 783-2548.

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Last Updated: 10/8/2009
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