title: The value of billing data from oncology practice to supplement treatment information for cancer surveillance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cancer treatment information is often underreported in cancer registries due to the shift in cancer care to ambulatory settings. Incomplete treatment information for central registries limits the usefulness of these data for understanding disparities in outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the added value and validity of medical billing data to supplement treatment for incident cases within a central cancer registry.
  
  
  METHODS
  Billing data using standardized structure and nomenclature as submitted by all practices was evaluated using an automated software (MDoffice, MDO) process that captures and processes these data and submits the information in a standardized format. A validation of the billing reported treatment was performed using data from 3 community oncology practices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The accuracy of treatment data captured was 100 percent for both chemotherapy and radiation therapy among the 313 cases validated. Chemotherapy (36 percent and 5 percent respectively for solid tumors and hematologic cancers) and radiation therapy (46 percent and 20 percent respectively for solid tumors and hematologic cancers) information was added to 738 known incident cases using billing data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Automated reporting based on billing data from community specialty providers is likely to markedly enhance the completeness of treatment data among known cancer cases as these community providers render significant amounts of treatment for cancer patients.
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Penberthy
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Petkov
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McClish
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peace
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Overton
authors.forename: Soundarya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gillam
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007345:Insurance Claim Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*