NETS Module 3: Quality Control for Central Registries

The NPCR Education and Training Series (NETS) is a series of educational tools for state trainers to support central cancer registries in their role of providing education to staff and reporters. For more information about how you may use the NETS modules, please see Guidelines for Using the NETS Modules.

This module has nine parts: five that provide an overview of total quality management and continuous quality improvement, and four separate standalone parts for audits, reliability studies, and data quality management reports.

Part 1: Quality Control for Central Registries

• Part 1A: General Overview [PDF-718KB] summarizes the basics of quality improvement.
• Part 1B: Principles of Data Quality[PDF-726KB] provides specifics for quality processes in a central cancer registry.
• Part 1C: Registry Data Quality Control Tools [PDF-781KB] discusses the wide variety of tools to monitor completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of cancer data with a focus on individual data items in individual records.
• Part 1D: Audit Considerations [PDF-304KB] provides an overview of the types of audits and general information to consider for the formal audit procedure.
• Part 1E: Developing an Audit [PDF-463KB] provides a generic approach to developing an audit.

Standalone Parts

• Part 2: Casefinding Audit Procedures [PDF-587KB] discusses casefinding issues and audit procedures in detail and expands on quality control concepts.
• Part 3: Reabstracting Audit Procedures [PDF-948KB] discusses reabstracting issues and audit procedures in greater detail and expands on the quality control concepts.
• Part 4: Reliability Study Procedures [PDF-852KB] addresses reliability issues and study procedures.
• Part 5: Data Quality Management Reports [PDF-1.1MB] discusses the two major categories of management reports for central registries and data quality indicators. Central registry system reports include both process monitoring and aggregate data quality.

Case Studies and Exercise Worksheets

The exercises that follow are taken from actual medical charts that have been de-identified to protect patient privacy and are used as part of the learning process. Drug names are trademarked and listed as they actually appear in their medical records.

• Quality Control Casefinding Exercise [PDF-153KB]
• Quality Control Casefinding Exercise Answers [PDF-169KB]
• Analyzing Major vs. Minor Errors Exercise [PDF-89KB]
• Determining Major vs. Minor Errors Exercise [PDF-48KB]
• Generic Reabstracting Worksheet [PDF-73KB]
• Reabstracting Exercise Case 1 [PDF-56KB]
• Reabstracting Exercise Case 1 Answers [PDF-75KB]
• Reabstracting Exercise Case 2 [PDF-43KB]
• Reabstracting Exercise Case 2 Answers [PDF-71KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 1 [PDF-79KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 1 Answers [PDF-74KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 2 [PDF-72KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 2 Answers [PDF-72KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 3 [PDF-72KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 3 Answers [PDF-72KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 4 [PDF-108KB]
• Recoding Exercise Case 4 Answers [PDF-137KB]
• Visual Editing Exercise Case 1 [PDF-82KB]
• Visual Editing Exercise Case 2 [PDF-85KB]
• Visual Editing Exercise Case 3 [PDF-89KB]