Improving cancer data and intelligence
Modernising the Scottish cancer registry to get the most out of cancer data.
IHDP commissioned an external review of the Scottish Cancer Registry to kick start the modernisation of the registry and identify what data healthcare professionals needed to support better cancer services and improve outcomes.
Following the review, IHDP and Public Health Scotland (PHS), together with technical input from National Services Scotland (NSS), developed the Scottish Cancer Registry and Intelligence Service (SCRIS) and its associated dashboards.
The SCRIS forms the backbone of the Scottish Cancer Intelligence Framework (SCIF) – a new approach to cancer intelligence in Scotland.
The SCRIS dashboards are a collection of cancer-related dashboards providing a single point of entry to national cancer analysis from a broad range of data sources, and presented in customisable reports at Scotland, NHS Board and Regional Cancer Network geographies.
The dashboards allow faster and more flexible access to cancer data from across Scotland, supporting clinicians and service managers to provide better cancer services and outcomes.
- Engaging the full range of stakeholders at the outset, to understand their requirements and harness their expertise, is essential
- Use of iterative feedback is key to cycles of improvement as the product develops
Defining a primary care cancer dataset.
The Scottish Cancer Registry and Intelligence Service (SCRIS) is considering what data held in primary care could usefully be incorporated into SCRIS to enhance the overall picture of cancer care in Scotland. The SCRIS and IHDP teams are working with clinicians in general practice to make use of, and improve, data available in practices through the SPIRE tool (developed by NSS).The group is starting with data related to cancer prevention, but as this work develops the ambition is to extend the scope to symptom recognition, to support early diagnosis of cancer.
Better use of primary care data will:
- add value to the work of clinical teams in both primary and secondary care
- help improve the quality of primary care data to enable better understanding of cancer prevention, symptom recognition and referral.
- a national approach to dataset requirements supports consistency in data quality, availability and use
Programmes of work
An overview of IHDP-led activities and learning.