The Cancer Registry of Greater California (CRGC) is delighted to be working directly with you in our statewide cancer registration and surveillance programs.  We look forward to building on the rapport and durable relationships that you have established with us through our cancer registry community. We also anticipate that change will raise questions, topics and some differences of procedure, and we welcome these as we aim to conduct our work in the best and most efficient ways.

Recently, we have noted that hospital agreements are expiring and that facilities may expect new agreements of this type to be forthcoming. At CRGC we rely on the statutory authority and designation of our program by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for cancer data collection and quality control activity purposes, and not on independent agreements between facilities and the CRGC.   As such, neither HIPAA regulations nor the state statute require agreements between the CRGC and reporting facilities for the purpose of cancer reporting.  

This question is an important one, and we have taken its presentation as an opportunity to outline information in regard to HIPAA compliance as a key topic, and have done so through a series of frequently asked questions.  We hope you will find this information useful:   http://crgc-cancer.org/crgc-and-hipaa-compliance-frequently-asked-questions/

Please feel free to share this information with the appropriate personnel within your institution.