Florida Cancer Data System Reporting

How to get started reporting:

1. You should have gotten a letter from the Florida Department of Health that contained your Physician Personal Identifier, which is a unique 12 character code specific to each Dermatologist identified through the Florida Department of Health. The Physician Personal Identifier can be found at the top of the letter sent to you. If you cannot locate your letter please call Mike Thiry, FCDS Data Acquisition Manager at (305) 243-4600
2. Instructions on how to register a physician can be found at the FCDS main web page at: http://fcds.med.miami.edu/. Click on the "Physicians" button on the left hand side. You will need to download the Dermatology Cancer Reporting Data Acquisition Manual that is found on the main page. You can also listen to the Webinar from May 11, 2011, Cancer Reporting for Dermatology.
3. Follow the instructions and register the physician* and create an FCDS IDEA USERID. For most offices the nurse, medical assistant or office manager will be filling out the abstract. Follow the registration process as provided in the manual if it is one of the employees that will be doing the abstract make sure they associate themselves with the physician they registered. If you have any problems with the registration process please call Mike Thiry at (305) 243-4600 and he can assist you.
4. FCDS requires that facilities (including physician practices) transmit data at least quarterly. This ensures that cancer reporting does not lag or is left unattended. Monthly data submission is recommended for large volume practices. Quality control studies have proven that frequent data submissions result in fewer errors and improved data quality. FCDS encourages all physician practices to report on a routine and timely basis.
5. Cases should be reported to FCDS within 6 months of initial diagnosis, treatment, or first patient encounter related to this neoplasm.
6. All cases must be abstracted, coded, and transmitted to FCDS electronically in accordance with FCDS Data Submission Policies and Procedures.
7. Patients seen only in consultation for a second opinion to confirm a diagnosis or a treatment plan are not reportable.
8. Patients in remission (no evidence of neoplasm) and not receiving primary surgical, prophylactic or adjuvant therapy are not reportable.

Reportable Cases:

The following malignant and in situ neoplasms of the skin are reportable to FCDS:

Merkel Cell Carcinoma, Sweat Gland Adenocarcinoma, Sebaceous Adenocarcinoma, Melanoma In Situ and Invasive Melanoma, Sarcoma, Fibrosarcoma, Dermatofibrosarcoma, Liposarcoma, Leiomyosarcoma, Kaposi Sarcoma, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, Hodgkin Lymphoma, Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Mycosis Fungoides, Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

A wide excision performed as follow-up treatment for a previously excised melanoma is primary surgical treatment (first course of treatment) for melanoma of the skin and must be reported to FCDS.

*REGISTER PHYSICIAN(this info directly from FCDS site):

To begin, access the FCDS main web page at: http://fcds.med.miami.edu/

• Locate the "Physicians" button in the menu on the left side of the screen. Click on the "Physicians" link to navigate to the Physician reporting section of the site. This is where you will find information on Dermatology Cancer Reporting and the Data Acquisition Manual.
• Locate the "Physician Reporting Registration Link" menu item to go to the Physician Profile Search, Physician Lookup screen.
• Enter your "Physician Personal Identifier" in the appropriate box on this screen. The identifier can be entered with or without the dashes shown on the letter.
• Press "Find" and you will be taken to a Physician Profile screen.

"Physician Personal Identifier" is a unique 12 character code specific to each Dermatologist identified through the Florida Department of Health. The "Physician Personal Identifier" can be found at the top of the letter sent to you by the Florida Department of Health announcing enhanced Dermatology Cancer Reporting through FCDS. The "Physician Personal Identifier" is required: to register a Physician; to create a new user account in the FCDS IDEA cancer reporting system; and to access the FCDS IDEA cancer reporting system to abstract and report cancer cases in compliance with Florida reporting statutes/rules.

Physician Registration and Facility Number
All dermatologists are required to register in the system. Even if you have previously reported and already have a unique facility number for your practice, this new system will assign a new facility number for each physician. This new facility number will be sent in the Physician Registration Confirmation email you will receive after registration. Please retain this number for your records and use it when communicating with FCDS.

Reporting of cancer cases by a licensed practitioner, a hospital facility licensed under Chapter 395, F.S., and freestanding radiation therapy centers, as defined in Section 408.07, F.S., to the Florida Cancer Data System as required by Section 385.202, F.S., shall be accomplished within six (6) months of the date of each diagnosis and within six (6) months of the date of each treatment.