June 2021
In this newsletter, you will find:
  • Clinical Corner by Frederick L. Greene, MD FACS - CMO
  • About You! Putting the Spotlight on CTRs - Noreen Brown, CTR
  • Thanks for Stopping by our Virtual Booth!
  • Tip of the Month: The Follow-Up Dilemma
  • June Employee Spotlight - Matt Bavis
  • Refer CRStar - Earn $200
Clinical Corner
by Frederick L. Greene, MD, FACS - CMO
Welcome to this first installment of the “Clinical Corner” which will be a feature of our ERS Newsletter each month. It is such a privilege and honor for me to join the ERS team as the Chief Medical Officer. In this role, I plan to highlight the important clinical responsibility and issues that our registrars face in the management of cancer patients. My desire is also to be a resource for all of the readers of our Newsletter when you need help with clinical issues that affect our registry use and the entire team.
 
One of my goals is to help create an ERS Advisory Board that will represent our ERS-user institutions and will serve as a forum for looking at ways to strengthen our software and enhance opportunities to join with other technologies to streamline the workflow for all cancer registrars. I had an opportunity to discuss some of my thoughts during the recently concluded ERS exhibit at the NCRA virtual annual meeting.
 
Those of you who know me also know that I am an unabashed supporter of all cancer registrars! You provide and collate the data that are the underpinnings of all clinical cancer management and clinical cancer research. One of the missions of ERS is to provide the most efficient and up to date registry software products that will aid you and, in turn, drive all of cancer care.
 
Future “Clinical Corner” offerings will highlight new cancer management strategies and concepts that are important to our current and future institutions using ERS products. As I begin this new and exciting venture as Chief Medical Officer, it will be my joy to represent the ERS team whenever and wherever clinical information is needed. My excitement and commitment come from the realization that all of you will accompany me on this journey!
About You! - Putting the Spotlight on CTRs
Noreen Brown, CTR
The next well-deserving CTR highlighted by our new About You! Series is Noreen Brown, a CTR at Oklahoma University Medical Center! Noreen came highly recommended by her supervisor and is happy to share her years of knowledge with other cancer registrars. Her interview is posted on Facebook.

Reminder: The featured individual with the greatest number of “likes” on Facebook will receive a prize at the end of the year! If you're not already following us on Facebook, please make sure to click "Like" our page while you're there!

Please take this opportunity to engage and highlight a community that often doesn’t get recognized – and have some fun while doing it.
 
If you know of a CTR who deserves recognition or if you are a Cancer Center leader who would like to give a shout out to an outstanding CTR, please reach out and let us know. Upon getting permission with the CTR’s leadership, Sally Kruse, CTR, a legend in her own right, will follow up with a wide-ranging interview and a summary article representing her discussion.
Thanks for Stopping by our Virtual Booth!
It was so great to virtually connect with many of you during the 2021 NCRA Educational Conference! We love to keep in touch with our current and former clients as well as make new friends!

Congratulations to Lisa Hamel from the Mississippi Cancer Registry, the winner of this year's ERS raffle. Lisa received a $200 VISA gift card.

Look for more information to come your way in the near future about the new ERS Advisory Board facilitated by Dr. Frederick L. Greene!

Hope to see all of you next year in Washington D.C.!
Tip of the Month
The Follow-Up Dilemma: Why Don't My Numbers Change?
One of the most frequently asked support questions we receive is, “Why are my follow-up rates not going up? I have entered new follow-up entries and the lost to follow up percentage stays the same! HELP!!”

Let’s talk about doing monthly follow-up and lost to follow-up.

Important! These are two separate functions and should be done in conjunction with each other, and not one versus the other.

There are two basic prongs to performing follow-up. First, the cases that are due for follow-up should be found and updated. These are eligible cases whose date of last contact is 12-15 months prior. These cases should be attempted before they become lost. If not, the lost to follow-up percentages will get higher in large chunks and lower the follow-up rate. Finding and updating these cases before they become lost is the key.

The second prong to follow-up is working the lost list. These are cases where the date of last contact is greater than 15 months. Updating these cases is absolutely the ONLY way the lost percentages decrease.
 
Important Facts to Remember:
  • Run and update monthly follow-up to prevent patients from becoming lost. These cases have a date of last contact prior to 15 months. Updating these cases DO NOT have any bearing on the lost rates.
  • Run and update Lost to Follow-Up patients to decrease lost rates. These are cases with a date of last contact greater than 15 months. Updating these cases is the ONLY way to decrease the percentage of people lost to follow-up, therefore increasing the percentage of successful follow-up.
  • If large groups of cases are updated with the same last date of contact, (either manually or by an import), these same cases all become due for follow-up and/or lost on the same date.
May Employee Spotlight - Matt Bavis
This month our employee spotlight shines on Matt Bavis. Matt joined our team as a software developer in January 1995. Prior to joining ERS, he studied at the University of Cincinnati and began a career in computer and software sales.
 
During Matt's 26 years at ERS, he has been responsible for the management and coordination of several initiatives of our technical department. He is currently our Chief Technology Officer and leads our application design and development initiatives. Matt also manages and coordinates the technical infrastructure needs of ERS. He loves the collaborative approach ERS takes as a company and enjoys the working atmosphere. Matt enjoys the always evolving requirements of our industry and the opportunities for incorporating new technologies to create a more enjoyable and efficient software solution.
 
Matt lives in Fairfield Township with his beautiful and compassionate wife, Carrie. They have one more year of high school before the last of their three children will likely turn them into "empty nesters." He enjoys spending time with his family, minor handyman projects that lead to buying new tools, and playing drums and other percussion instruments.
Refer CRStar - Earn $200
Do you love CRStar?

So do we and we are offering our loyal customers the chance to earn a $200 gift card when a Cancer Program that you refer becomes an ERS customer!

Please click "Refer CRStar" below if you know of any Cancer Programs that could benefit from CRStar and the advantages that CRStar users enjoy and rely on.

Let's grow our CRStar community together!

Terms and conditions can be found on the CRStar Referral Form.
View a CRStar video
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