MRA announces acquisition of TrustHCS's cancer registry services division

Medical Record Associates, LLC, (MRA) announces the acquisition of TrustHCS's cancer registry services division. The acquisition of TrustHCS's cancer registry business compliments and expands MRA's existing cancer registry service offerings which assist healthcare customers in maintaining registry compliance, staffing registry programs and preparing for ACoS surveys.  

Based in Springfield, Missouri, TrustHCS currently provides services for cancer registries nationwide. Both companies are well-known healthcare services companies with solid, proven reputations for quality work and long-term dedication to their clients. All TrustHCS cancer registry customers and staff transitioned to MRA effective May 19, 2014, expanding the number of certified tumor registrars (CTRs) employed by MRA and diversifying the company into new geographic regions of the U.S.

"We are excited to add this division to our existing cancer registry business as both companies share the same core commitment to quality and service," states Charlie Saponaro, CEO of MRA. Quality cancer data is central to the nation's fight against cancer; Certified Cancer Registrars (CTRs) are the first link to capturing this very important information.

Due to increased demand for cancer data and changes within the industry, employment opportunities for CTRs have expanded to every level of the cancer surveillance community—contributing to a nationwide shortage of CTRs. "More cancer patients are diagnosed every year and new treatments are lengthening patients' lives resulting in large volumes, and heavier demands for improved data quality," adds Saponaro.

Finally, the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) conducts intense surveys of all cancer registry programs. Helping hospitals collect data and manage their programs while also preparing for surveys is another example of MRA's clinical data expertise and comprehensive HIM services offerings which will ultimately improve patient outcomes through additional data.

"We've always known that our cancer registry services practice was uniquely valuable and among the best-performing group of professionals in the industry," states Torey Barnhouse, President of TrustHCS. "As we refined our focus on revenue cycle management and clinical documentation improvement services it became clear that MRA was the right choice for acquiring our cancer registry services division. Their history of success and appreciation of the contribution made by cancer registry professionals was central to our selection of them to shepherd our team through the transition," he concludes.