Health Care Providers Use Registry Data to Assess Market Share

Kansas Cancer Registry

The Kansas Cancer Registry (KCR) established data release policies in 1995 for use of registry data to facilitate public health practice and advance research activities in addressing cancer burden, screening and early detection, and cancer control. Requests for cancer data have increased over the years.

In addition to routine cancer cluster investigations, priorities for Healthy Kansans 2000 and 2010, and others, hospital and health care administrators also realized the benefit of using registry data to assess their market share in caring for cancer patients and to expand their services, not only in populated areas, but also in areas where disparities in access to cancer care have long been identified.

Several new outpatient cancer centers have opened after requesting data from KCR directly or through the KCR Web site. New cancer treatment and radiation centers have opened in rural and inner-city locations to provide adjuvant services. Although health care providers have profit in mind, these services benefit the rural population who otherwise would have to travel long distances to obtain care, including adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Since 1995, three outpatient cancer centers (with more than 20 satellite clinics) and more than five radiation and surgical treatment centers have opened in rural Kansas, benefiting more than 800 patients per year since 2004. About 42% of these patients have been able to use more local medical facilities for continued care and treatment.