MEDIA RELEASE
From 18 November 2019, The National Cancer Screening Register (the National Register) will begin supporting the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP).
The Australian Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) is a population-based screening program, that aims to help detect bowel cancer early and reduce the number of Australians who die each year from the disease.
From 18 November 2019, the current NBCSP Register operated by the Department of Human Services, will transition over to the National Register to create a single national record for participants of the NBCSP and the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP).
The National Register will support the NBCSP by
- Collecting and storing NBCSP bowel cancer screening data.
- Inviting and reminding eligible people to participate (through integration with the Medicare database).
- Distributing iFOBT kits to eligible participants (a free test kit that can be completed at home and mailed to the contracted pathology laboratory for analysis).
- Providing the State and Territory Participant Follow-Up Function (PFUF) access to the National Register to facilitate their support and follow up of positive iFOBT results.
- Providing information on participants to healthcare providers.
- Providing reporting on key program and operational outcomes for policy makers and key stakeholders to ensure appropriate safety, monitoring and evaluation of the Program.
Additional functionality will be implemented in stages from March 2020, including
- An online portal which will enable healthcare providers to access patient information and submit data electronically to the NBCSP and the
- Integration with primary care Practice Management Software systems.
- Integration with whole-of-government services (e.g. MyGov, My Health Record) which will enable greater self-service options for people to manage their participation in both Programs.
What you need to know
Migration of NBCSP data will occur over 15–17 November and the National Register will commence operating the NBCSP Register from the morning of Monday, 18 November 2019.
National Register contact details
From 18 November 2019, the National Register can be contacted for both NBCSP and NCSP-related purposes on the following:
- National Register Contact Centre:
1800 627 701 (operates Monday to Friday, between 8am and 6pm in all Australian state and territory time zones) - Fax:
Bowel Screening Fax: 1800 115 062
Cervical Screening Fax: 1800 627 702
- Post:
Bowel Screening Post: Reply Paid 90965, Sunshine VIC 3020
Cervical Screening Post: Reply Paid 90964, Sunshine VIC 3020