New York State Cancer Registry (NYSCR)

Effective January 1, 2022, the New York State Cancer Registry (NYSCR) will no longer be participating in CMS Promoting Interoperability Programs. New registrations will not be accepted after July 30, 2021 and the NYSCR will not be onboarding EPs.

As mandated by the Public Health Law, all NYS licensed health care providers and practitioners diagnosing or treating cancer patients, all licensed facilities at which patients are treated (e.g., hospitals, radiation centers), all laboratories holding permits to conduct pathology testing (whether independent or hospital-based), are required to report cancer cases to the NYSCR. Laws regarding cancer case reporting to the NYSCR apply to all providers in New York, including those in NYC.

As part of the MU Public Health Reporting Objective, reporting to the NYSCR is intended for EPs who diagnose and/or directly treat cancer. A diagnosing EP is one who definitively diagnoses cancer. The NYSCR considers an EP who directly treats cancer as one who performs/administers treatment modalities (i.e. surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy) directed at the cancer. Additionally, a treating EP could be one who decides (with the patient) that there will be no treatment given/received.

For information about reporting to the NYSCR by ambulatory healthcare providers as mandated by the Public Health Law, contact the NYSCR by email at mdreports@health.ny.gov or by telephone at 518-474-0971 and ask for the physician reporting team.

The information collected is quite extensive and includes, but is not limited to the primary site, histology (cell type), behavior (benign, in situ, malignant), stage, grade, diagnosis date, methods used to confirm the diagnosis, tumor markers, first course of treatment (including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy, and active surveillance), and patient information (such as age, gender race, residence, and place of birth). Ideally, all of information about the patient required for cancer case reporting as part of MU will be collected or contained in the Electronic Health Record (EHR) for creation and transmission of a cancer case report.

The NYSCR contains reports of malignant cancers, included those with invasive and in situ behaviors. Intracranial tumors classified as benign or which have an uncertain behavior are also reportable, while some skin cancers and in situ cervical cancers are exempted. For MU cancer case reporting, the EHR software identifies reportable cancers for the provider, as specified by the implementation guide.

Phone: (518) 474–0971

Email: mdreports@health.ny.gov