DeKalb Medical's Terri Richardson, RHIA, CTR, Installed as President of the National Cancer Registrars Association

6/23/2014

Terri Richardson, RHIA, CTR, was installed as the president of the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA) at its Annual Educational Conference in Nashville, TN, on May 18, 2014. NCRA is a non-profit organization that represents more than 5,000 cancer registry professionals. Cancer registrars are data information specialists that capture a complete history, diagnosis, treatment, and health status for every cancer patient in the U.S. The data provide essential information to researchers, healthcare providers, and public health officials to better monitor and advance cancer treatments, conduct research, and improve cancer prevention and screening programs. In her role as president, Richardson will represent the organization at regional and national meetings and support its mission to promote education, credentialing, and advocacy for cancer registry professionals.

Richardson has a well-established career in cancer registry management and earned her CTR credential in 1997. She is the Manager of Cancer Data Services at DeKalb Medical in Decatur, GA. The cancer registry at DeKalb Medical is a Commission on Cancer (CoC) and National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) accredited registry. Richardson has been an active member of NCRA for over 17 years, having served in a variety of leadership positions including Treasurer, Junior Treasurer, and as an Advocacy and Technical Practice Director. Richardson has also been active at the state level, serving as both the Secretary and Education Chair for the Georgia Tumor Registrars Association. Richardson holds a B.S. in Health Science with an emphasis on Health Information Management from Weber State University in Ogden, UT.

Richardson will focus her year as president on promoting issues of importance to her and the cancer registry profession. She will concentrate her efforts on pursuing a classification code with the Department of Labor for Medical Registries, seeking opportunities for streamlining processes to create an efficient work environment, and finding new ways to promote the use of cancer registry data.