Public Health Specialized Registries

Cancer Case Reporting

Cancer Case Reporting now falls under the Specialized Registry Reporting measure under the Modified MU rules. Eligible Professionals who diagnose cancer can therefore meet the Specialized Registry Reporting measure.

EHs and CAHs currently are excluded from the existing Cancer Case Reporting measure in the Modified MU rules. California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is in discussion with federal authorities regarding the creation of a Cancer Reporting measure for EHs and CAHs. In the meantime, EHs and CAHs must still follow California law in submitting cancer data even though it does not satisfy a Meaningful Use measure.

For further instructions go to Cancer Case Reporting or for general cancer reporting questions, please email MU2CCRHELP@ccr.ca.gov

California Smokers' Helpline

The California Department of Public Health determined that the California Smokers’ Helpline, meets the Specialized Registry Reporting measure. The California Smokers’ Helpline, funded primarily by the CDPH, California Tobacco Control Program, provides free tobacco cessation counseling in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese. It also conducts population research using data collected from participants. Beginning in 2013, the University of California Davis Health System integrated a proactive, two-way eReferral to the California Smokers’ Helpline into its EHR. The other four University of California health systems followed suit over the next two years. In 2015, the CDPH designated the California Smokers’ Helpline as a Public Health “Specialized” Registry and the University of California Irvine Health System used this designation to demonstrate Meaningful Use (MU) compliance.

The designation of the California Smokers’ Helpline as a Specialized Registry helps link public health and health care systems. It supports efforts to ensure that health systems routinely screen all patients for tobacco use or exposure, advise all tobacco users to quit, and offer evidence based cessation assistance to those who are willing to make a quit attempt. Data in this registry can be used both to help individual tobacco users quit, e.g. by sending them repeated reminders to quit with offers of assistance, and to understand larger trends in the tobacco using population and influence cessation on a population level.

Following successful implementation of eReferrals within the five University of California health systems, the California Smokers’ Helpline is currently expanding its eReferral service to a large outpatient clinic system and two additional hospitals, and hopes to expand the program further in the future. Instructions and criteria for implementation of eReferrals to the California Smokers’ Helpline will be available in September 2016.

If you have any questions specific to Specialized Registries, please send your inquiries to MeaningfulUse@cdph.ca.gov

To get answers to your frequently asked questions, please click here.

Other Specialized Registries Options

The following are other registries that have declared to be options to meet the Specialized Registry measure.

DISCLAIMER: As they are not under state jurisdiction, CDPH accepts no responsibility for the content or accessibility of these external websites. CDPH does not endorse, support, sponsor, or approve the products or services of these other parties. We do not control or maintain the material presented by other persons on their websites.

Surveys from the National Center for Health Statistics

On the federal level, The National Center for Health Statistics has proclaimed their surveys to be an option to meet the Specialized Registry measure. Please see The National Health Care Surveys, The National Hospital Care Survey (NHCS), and The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS).

CALNOC – The Collaborative Alliance for Nursing Outcomes (Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals only)

CALNOC, the nations' first Nurse Sensitive Registry, has been in existence for 20 years. CALNOC satisfies Joint Commission and CMS requirement for participation in a nurse sensitive registry and CALNOC data is also used satisfy hospital Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Its data has been used to benchmark and drive patient safety and quality across its hospital base.

CALNOC has been recognized as a Specialized Registry for Meaningful Use. EH and CAH must be able to extract data from a Certified EHR. Some additional fees may be required to participate.

Please contact CALNOC for information and qualification criteria at calnocmuinfo@calnoc.org.

Other Clinical Data Registries

As per this CMS FAQ, "A provider should check with any specialty society with which they are affiliated to determine if the society maintains or endorses a specialized registry."