Cancer declared ‘notifiable disease’ in J&K
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, May 22: The J&K Government has declared cancer a “notifiable disease” across the Union Territory, making it mandatory for all public and private healthcare institutions, laboratories and related agencies to report diagnosed and treated cancer cases to authorities in a prescribed format.
The Health and Medical Education Department issued notification S.O. 146 under Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, saying the move was aimed at strengthening public health surveillance, epidemiological assessment, treatment planning and evidence-based policymaking.
Under the notification, all Government, autonomous, private, cooperative and institutional hospitals across J&K have been brought under its ambit, including Medical College Hospitals, ESI Hospitals, AIIMS, Railway Hospitals, Industrial Hospitals and Military Hospitals.
The order also applies to private clinics, nursing homes, hospices and institutions engaged in cancer diagnosis, treatment or palliative care, besides AYUSH hospitals and centres providing cancer-related treatment and care.
All pathology, histopathology, cytology, molecular diagnostic, radiology and imaging laboratories diagnosing or reporting cancer cases have also been directed to report data to the authorities.
The Government has further included non-governmental organisations, insurance companies, Registrars of Births and Deaths, Vital Statistics authorities and any Government or private institution maintaining cancer-related data.
According to the notification, all institutions covered under the order shall mandatorily report every diagnosed and treated cancer case through a notified reporting mechanism and maintain a dedicated Cancer Register in the prescribed format to record all existing and newly diagnosed patients from the date of issuance of the order.
Chief Medical Officers have been tasked with ensuring compliance by all reporting institutions within their jurisdictions and monitoring timely and accurate submission of cancer-related data.
The notification said the Department will develop a dedicated online portal for reporting cancer cases.
All hospitals empanelled under the PMJAY-SEHAT Health Scheme will be automatically registered on the portal and provided login credentials for submission of cancer data, while other institutions and entities will have to register separately.
For scrutiny, validation and verification of cancer data, the State Cancer Institute at Government Medical College Jammu and the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, have been designated as Centres of Excellence.
The notification said these institutions may seek additional case-specific information from reporting entities, under intimation to the concerned Chief Medical Officer, wherever required for validation purposes.
It further stated that the Director, SKIMS Soura, will act as the overall nodal officer and ensure regular transmission of validated data to the National Cancer Registry Programme maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
On data confidentiality, the Government said all information collected under the notification shall remain strictly confidential and will be used only for public health surveillance, epidemiological research, treatment planning, policy formulation and allied Governmental purposes.
The Government has directed the Director SKIMS Soura, Principal Government Medical College Jammu, Director Health Services Jammu and Director Health Services Kashmir to take necessary measures for effective implementation of the order.
Officials said the Government has also outlined a broader strategy to tackle the growing cancer burden in J&K with a focus on long-term and sustainable implementation.
The strategy includes establishment of a robust Cancer Registry for systematic collection and analysis of disease-related data and undertaking population-based screening in line with Indian Council of Medical Research guidelines.
Officials said the plan also stresses standardised treatment of patients as per established medical protocols alongside strengthening preventive oncology measures.
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