NCSP Register Central Team update

This was to assist smear takers who are trying to increase screening uptake for priority women (Māori, Pacific and Asian women) within primary health organisation catchment areas, with the aim of ultimately increasing screening coverage.

The NCSP Register has the capacity to include multiple ethnicities.

Ethnicity is self identified, and may change depending on which ethnicity (culture or nationality) a woman identifies with at the time of any health visit. This information must be obtained directly from the woman herself and not be guessed or assumed.

Accuracy of ethnicity data cannot be understated, as it enables more focused decision making and service provision.

Electronic colposcopy

The NCSP Register Central Team has been working with a project team over the last 12 months to test new electronic colposcopy messaging.

The project team has representatives from the Ministry of Health, Solutions Plus, the Register Central Team and Southern DHB, the pilot DHB for the project. Southern DHB is now successfully sending electronic colposcopy information for both Dunedin and Invercargill to the Register.

The NCSP Register Central Team is looking forward to having further DHBs join the project team and implement electronic colposcopy messaging over the next six months.

Delay to OCS/SRR reports

Printing of the overdue cervical screening report (OCS) and the smear taker recall report (SRR) was postponed during May so an update to the covering letter could be made. NCSP asks health facilities to send any return reports and additional information to Regional Services by registered post, signature courier or fax.

The reports for June 2013 are scheduled for printing as usual.

Register updates

Register release 7 was successfully deployed in March. Content included the addition of ethnicity on screening history reports and changes to prevent new duplicates posting to the Register.

• Screening history report to include ethnicity
  Previously, the screening history report did not display the ethnicity of the participant. As mentioned above, the Register has been updated to include ethnicity on the report.
   
• Preventing duplicate test result versions posting to the Register
  Duplicate test results had been an ongoing data quality and workload issue for managing the NCSP Register. Duplicate results have to be identified and effectively removed from the tracking and history of participants. It is of significant benefit to the Register to ensure duplicate results can be identified and stopped before they are loaded to the Register system.
   
• The Register duplicate checking function has been upgraded to cover a far greater number of scenarios and prevent further duplicates from posting to the Register.