NPCR-AERRO ePath Reporting Workgroup

Purpose and Goals

The information collected and included in the pathology laboratory reports represents a critical data source for state cancer registries. Currently, some registries still lack the resources either to obtain and process paper pathology reports or to implement their own electronic pathology (ePath) reporting systems. Many laboratories lack resources and infrastructure to implement ePath reporting. The need to retrieve data from the pathology report in a more efficient and timely fashion is driving the development of an automated electronic process for accessing and using pathology reports to identify cancer cases.

NPCR-AERRO’s goal is to implement electronic pathology reporting from laboratories at the national, state, and local levels to the appropriate state cancer registries. Activities are focused on working with the national laboratories and laboratory information system vendors to implement electronic reporting of pathology reports according to the NAACCR Pathology Laboratory Electronic Reporting Volume V standard and the business rules defined in the NAACCR Electronic Pathology (E-Path) Reporting Guidelines.

eMaRC Plus

Electronic Mapping, Reporting, and Coding (eMaRC) Plus, the newest Registry Plus™ application, is a software tool developed to view and work with HL7 messages and documents. The application was developed collaboratively by participants in NPCR-AERRO’s ePath Pilot Project and programmed by CDC’s Registry Plus Development Team.

Activities and Timeline

Modeling

Analysis and Design

Implementation