Linn County still waiting on cancer registry data

The Linn County Public Health Department still is waiting on localized cancer data from the Iowa Cancer Registry at the University of Iowa.

Public Health Director Pramod Dwivedi started asking for the data nearly two years ago. He wants detailed information about Linn County residents diagnosed with cancer so epidemiologists in the agency can study whether environmental factors may play a role in Linn County having a higher cancer rate than the state.

'The Attorney General's Office and the University of Iowa's general counsel's office are working on the issue together, but I don't know if there's any concrete resolution,” Dwivedi said.

UI officials, who have collected the cancer data for more than 40 years, want to make sure the confidential information is carefully protected. Lynch argued in February Linn County did not need patient addresses to examine environmental factors because they could use data by block or ZIP code.

Because of the impasse, Linn County's countywide assessment of health risks and health status was published in July with only aggregate cancer data and no report of geographic 'hot spots,” Dwivedi said. The county's goal is to study those areas to see if there are nearby risks.

The Iowa Department of Public Health, which owns the data, has said Linn County should have access to the information.

The state is working with the UI to develop a data-use agreement, which has gone through several drafts, said Gerd Clabaugh, state public health director. He expects the state's reaction to the latest draft by the end of 2014.

'We're getting very close to being in a position where we'll hopefully be done,” he said.

Lynch agrees: 'We have all intents of providing them the information.”