The Kentucky Cancer Registry (KCR) is a population-based cancer surveillance program established and maintained pursuant to the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS). All persons, facilities, and organizations required to report under these statutes must comply with reporting requirements outlined therein and in the Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR).
Failure to report in accordance with these statutes may result in civil penalties. The information reported to KCR is confidential and protected by state law; access is governed by the provisions below and applicable regulations.
Enabling Statutes
This is the foundational statute authorizing the Kentucky Cancer Registry as a statewide cancer surveillance program. It establishes the Cabinet for Health and Family Services' authority to collect, analyze, and disseminate cancer incidence data throughout the Commonwealth.
Establishes the specific obligations for reporting entities and provides civil penalty authority for noncompliance. All covered health care facilities must comply within the timeframes established by administrative regulation.
Governs the confidentiality of registry data and specifies the limited circumstances under which identifiable cancer data may be disclosed. Research data requests must comply with both this statute and the governing administrative regulations.
Delegates rulemaking authority to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to implement the cancer reporting program, including specific case definitions, reporting timelines, and data content.
Implementing Regulations
Cancer Reporting — Definitions and Scope
Defines terms used throughout the cancer reporting regulations and establishes the scope of the Kentucky Cancer Registry program, including covered neoplasms and excluded conditions.
View RegulationReporting Procedures & Timelines
Specifies what information must be included in a cancer report, the format for submission, and the deadlines by which covered entities must submit cases to KCR.
View RegulationData Release & Research Access
Establishes procedures for requesting access to KCR data for research purposes, including required application materials, IRB documentation, and data use agreement terms.
View RegulationElectronic Reporting Standards
Governs electronic data submission, including HL7, XML, and flat file formats; required transmission security protocols; and testing requirements for new submitters.
View RegulationKentucky Administrative Regulations are updated periodically. For the most current text of any regulation, visit the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (LRC) online database. The KCR also maintains a subscriber list for notification of regulatory changes affecting cancer reporting requirements.
Additional Statutes
The general disease surveillance statute under which KCR operates in conjunction with the cancer-specific statutes. Establishes broad public health surveillance authority for the Cabinet.
KRS 61.878(1)(a) exempts from the Open Records Act any record the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Cancer registry data is specifically protected under the cancer registry statutes and this general privacy exemption.