Impact Patient Care as a Certified Oncology Data Specialist

AHIMA and the National Cancer Association Registrar Association (NCRA) collaborated to create online learning to enhance opportunities for burgeoning cancer registrars, and to help students become eligible to sit for NCRA's Oncology Data Specialist (ODS) certification exam. Facilities accredited by the Commission on Cancer (COC) require all cancer case abstracting be performed by a certified ODS.

Develop Skills in a Respected, High-Tech Profession

Cancer registrars are data information specialists who capture a complete history, diagnosis, treatment, and health status for every cancer patient in the US. The data provides essential information to researchers, healthcare providers, and public health officials to better monitor and advance cancer treatments, conduct research, and improve cancer prevention and screening programs.

Cancer registrars manage and analyze clinical cancer data. Responsibilities include:

• Collecting, maintaining, and reporting cancer data for surveillance and research
• Ensuring data quality and compliance with state and federal reporting standards
• Preparing reports and data analysis for physicians and administrators
• Monitoring patient treatment and outcomes
• Managing national accreditation standards

Study Online to Become a Certified Oncology Data Specialist (ODS)

The NCRA AHIMA Cancer Registry Management (CRM) Program is an NCRA-Accredited Formal Education Certificate program. The online program allows students to tailor training based on their schedules and offers online support for content-related and technical questions. Aspiring cancer registrars can complete the full program for a structured and thorough introduction to the profession. Current healthcare practitioners can obtain the education needed to include cancer registry among their skills.
Upon completion of the program, a graduate of AHIMA’s Cancer Registry Management program can:

• Accurately abstract health information into a cancer registry to allow for uniform data collection
• Manage an effective cancer registry program at a local, state or national level
• Produce cancer-related information to assist healthcare providers in patient care and research
• Provide information for cancer prevention activities

CRM courses are now available!

The complete CRM program consists of the following 10 courses.

Four prerequisites from AHIMA’s Medical Coding and Reimbursement Online series are required:

• Introduction to Healthcare Technology and Information Systems
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Medical Terminology
• Pathophysiology and Pharmacology

Each of the six Cancer Registry Management specialty courses builds on the last. It is therefore strongly recommended that they are taken in the following order:

1. Cancer Registry Structure and Management
2. Cancer Registry Operations
3. Cancer Disease Coding and Staging
4. Oncology Treatment and Coding
5. Follow-Up, Data Quality, and Utilization
6. Abstracting Methods

Advancements in how cancer is diagnosed and treated require the courses to be updated frequently – it is recommended that these courses are completed within a 12-month period. A practicum is the final step of the program, providing you with the opportunity to apply learning in live and/or virtual situations. The six specialty courses listed above must be completed before beginning the practicum.