Quality Assurance

To assure validity and reliability of data presented CDRI has many mechanisms in place to check data for quality and completeness. We use EDITS software and RMCDS software which have standard edits using algorithms that check the content of data fields against an encoded set of acceptable possible contents and flag the acceptability of coded data. Edits include field edits, inter-field edits, and inter-record edits. Edits are performed at the time of data entry and at any desired time against an individual record, a subset of records, or the entire master file. Edits check for unlikely sex/site, site/histology, or site/age combinations. In addition to computerized edits, central registry staff manually review each case submitted for errors in variables such as age, race, sex, residence, as well as the interpretation and coding of the primary site, extent of disease, and therapy.

Records are also routinely checked for duplicate entries. Duplicate case checking is performed both manually and electronically using various methodologies. Using a protocol developed by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), CDRI found only 5 unresolved duplicates out of a sample of 4,735 cases on data from 1989-93; an unresolved duplicate rate of only 0.1 percent.

Idaho data have qualified for inclusion in all volumes of NAACCR’s publication of “Cancer Incidence in North America”. In order to be included, states must meet standards for quality and completeness.

Idaho’s cancer registry data was further scrutinized by NAACCR this year. CDRI data for 1993 was subjected to a statewide case finding and reabstraction audit conducted by the staff of NAACCR. The audit concluded that the registry was 96.1 percent complete, exceeding the national “gold standard” of 95 percent. Furthermore, the audit indicated that Idaho’s error rate for each variable reabstracted was below or consistent to the NAACCR median, with the exception of day/month of diagnosis which was higher.

Periodic training sessions and workshops are sponsored by CDRI for hospital and independent registrars to ensure adherence to standard abstracting procedures.