Newspapers / InterCom (Durham, N.C.) / Jan. 1, 1970, edition 1 / Page 5
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CHARTS AND MORE CHARTS— Miss Inez Lamberth, left, and Mrs. Sue REGISTRY OFFICE—Mrs. Lou Woods, registry secretary, began working in the Polucci of the tumor registry go through office this sunfimer replacing Mrs. Florence Becker who moved from Durham. Mrs. patient charts, (photo by Dave Hooks) Woods oversees the operation of the registry, (photo by Dave Hooks) Second in a Series Tumor Registry—Service for Research (This Is the second In a series of articles about behind-the-scenes depart ments at the Medical Center. This month Intercom features the Duke Tumor Regi stry.) Working amidst shoulder-high stacks of patient charts on every desk, three employes in a ground-floor Baker House office perform a vital research task- operating the Medical Center's tumor registry. The registry, often called the tumor clinic, is unfamiliar to many hospital employes, but its services are well-known to the physicians who see more than 1,400 patients with cancer at the hospital each year. Its function is to register all patients treated at Duke for any type of malignancy and keep track of those who return to their homes. In addition to supplying required in formation to state and local health de partments about all recorded cancers, the registry's records are used by a variety of researchers studying different types of cancers and the effectiveness of treatment. The Duke center also provides in formation for a ten-hospital registry set up by the North Carolina Regional Medi cal Program to supply researchers even more data about the occurrence and treatment of cancer on a state-wide basis. Mrs. Lou Woods, registry secretary, explained that she learns about most new patients through pathology labora tory reports and tumor clinic lists com piled by the medical records department. "Once we find out about a patient with a malignancy," she said, "we request his chart from medical records and then complete cards for the State Board of Health Snd the local health department as' required by a 1963 law." She said that in addition the staff fills out a card for the registry's master file and then completes a computerized form which is used for the Regional Medical Program project These forms will event ually permit total computerization of the Duke registry to make information more accessible to researchers. Pertinent data about new patients are also noted in an accessions book which provides an easy • reference for future checks on the patient Those registered in the clinic are followed at least once a year. If a patient is seen at Duke regularly, registry follow-up cards can be filled out from the doctor's notes in the chart. If the patient visits a physician outside of Duke, a letter inquiring about the patient's con dition is sent to either the patient him self, his doctor, or a government health agency in his area once a year. "Our aim right now," Mrs. Woods said, "is to keep closer watch on our follow-up reports to make sure our in formation is as complete as possible." The Duke tumor registry is part of the Department of Surgery. Supervisor for its operation is Dr. W. W. Shingleton, professor and chief of the division of general surgery and chairman of the undergraduate cancer training program. The facility, accredited by the Ameri can College of Surgeons, was begun in the early 1940's and presently has approxi mately 10,000 cases on file.
InterCom (Durham, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1970, edition 1
5
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