NCSR Glossary of Definitions


Term	Definition
30 Pack-Year Smoking History	A measurement of tobacco exposure used to assess eligibility. A ’30 pack-year smoking history’ equals smoking one “pack” of 20 cigarettes per day for thirty years, or equivalent (e.g. two packs per day for 15 years).
Alerts	Icons to inform you of a patient’s modified eligibility for interventions. The effect of setting an alert is to modify that patient’s eligibility for follow-up correspondence, by excluding them or inviting them at an earlier or later interval. Applicable to all screening programs: bowel, cervical and lung.
Bowel Participant	A person who has a National Bowel Cancer Screening Program iFOBT result recorded on the NCSR and are considered an active participant in the program.
Bowel Program	The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP or bowel program).
Bowel Program Eligibility	Australians aged 45 to 74 are eligible for the immunochemical Faecal Occult Blood Test (iFOBT or bowel test kit) free of charge through the NBCSP.
Bowel Screening	Bowel screening involves testing for bowel cancer in people who do not have any obvious symptoms of the disease. The aim is to find cancers early when they are easier to treat and cure. Bowel screening can also find polyps, which may develop into cancer over time.
CAD/AI/Volumetry Software	Computer-aided detection (CAD), artificial intelligence (AI), or volumetry tools used by radiologists to support interpretation of low-dose CT scans.
Cease Correspondence	A request to the NCSR by an eligible person, their personal representative, or healthcare provider, to receive no further contact or correspondence from the cervical program. This is available for the cervical and lung programs only. Ceasing correspondence is not available for the bowel program.
Cervical Participant	A person who has any cervical cytology or histopathology test recorded in the NSCR.
Cervical Program	The National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP or cervical program).
Cervical Program Eligibility	Eligible women aged 25 years or over who have not yet started cervical screening will receive an invitation from the NCSR to have the cervical screening test.
Correspondence Preference	The channels – such as text (SMS), email or letters – a participant of the NCSR would prefer to receive correspondence from for any programs they are participating in.
Deferring participation	This is a request to the NCSR by a person, their personal representative or healthcare provider, who has elected to not participate in a screening program for a defined period of time. They may return to the screening program any time after the deferment period has ended or at any earlier time if they withdraw a request or if a screening test result is received by the NCSR.
Healthcare Provider	Has the same meaning as in the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010 (Cth). A person associated with either a health specialty or a health discipline and who is qualified or certified by the relevant regulatory bodies to provide a healthcare service to a patient. For example, a general practitioner, other specialist, colonoscopist, colposcopist, histopathologist, pathologist, nurse, midwife, and Aboriginal Healthcare Worker. Note: healthcare provider is the preferred term for use in NCSR documentation as opposed to healthcare professional.
Low-Dose Computed Tomography	A low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan uses a small amount of radiation to take detailed images of your lungs. It can detect lung cancer before symptoms appear and is used in the National Lung Cancer Screening Program for early detection.
Lung Cancer Screening	Lung cancer screening is a medical imaging procedure that checks for signs of lung cancer before symptoms appear. It is performed in a radiology setting using a low-dose CT scan for people at higher risk. Early detection can increase the chance of successful treatment.
Lung Participant	A person who has a record of participation in the National Lung Cancer Screening Program in the NCSR, including a completed Eligibility and Enrolment Form, low-dose CT scan results, or other lung program-related clinical information recorded.
Lung Program	The National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) aims to detect lung cancer early in people at high risk, using low-dose CT scans to reduce illness and death from lung cancer.
Lung Program Eligibility	Eligible participants are aged 50 to 70 years, have no signs or symptoms of lung cancer, currently smoke tobacco cigarettes or have quit within the past 10 years, and have a 30 pack-year smoking history.
Lung Program Screening Category	A classification assigned after low-dose CT scan based on findings, indicating the participant’s risk of lung cancer and guiding next steps (e.g. continue routine screening, follow-up scan, or referral to specialist).
NLCSP - Biopsy Adverse Events Form	Used to report adverse events following a biopsy performed as part of follow-up after lung cancer screening. This supports safety monitoring and quality improvement.
NLCSP - Diagnosis Form	Completed by a healthcare provider to report whether lung cancer is present or absent following diagnostic work-up after a high-risk low-dose CT scan. Information provided informs clinical follow-up and supports program safety net functions.
NLCSP - Eligibility and Enrolment Form	Used by a GP or medical practitioner to assess a patient’s eligibility and suitability for lung cancer screening and, if eligible to formally enrol them in the program. This form can also be used to: Record people who do not meet the eligibility criteria Note if a patient declines to participate, and Note if a patient declines to have their data stored in the NCSR
NLCSP - Participation Management Form	Used to update a participant’s status in the NLCSP. This includes confirming continued eligibility, withdrawing participation, or recording clinical reasons to cease screening.
NLCSP - Radiology Report	Used by radiology practices to submit structured clinical and scan data following a low-dose CT scan. It includes patient demographic information, referring provider information, scan quality, findings (including nodules) for lung and other actionable findings, and screening outcomes.
NLCSP - Specialist Referral Form	Used to refer patients with a high-risk low-dose CT result to a specialist (e.g. respiratory physician, multi-disciplinary team) for further assessment and timely clinical management.
Nominated Healthcare Provider	A request to the NCSR by an eligible person, their personal representative or healthcare provider, who wants to nominate a healthcare provider in relation to correspondence with the NCSR. The nominated healthcare provider is able to access details about the patient and will, in addition to the patient, receive reminders for follow up (for example after a positive or high-risk screening result) and be able to view correspondence sent to their patient. A healthcare provider can be nominated for all programs. A person can have separate nominated healthcare providers for each program they participate in.
Opt out	A request to opt out of all participation in a screening program facilitated by the NCSR. Opting out means that future results (screening test, dates and related procedure test results or diagnosis) are no longer accepted or recorded against the persons NCSR record from the effective date, and no contact or correspondence is made or sent, including invitations to screen, reminder letters and follow-up actions.
Participant	An eligible person: Who has elected to participate in at least one (1) screening round by way of undertaking a screening test in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, National Cervical Screening Program or National Lung Cancer Screening Program. Whose invitation to screen has been brought forward by a healthcare provider (with consent) Who is screened while attending a healthcare provider (with consent).
Personal Representative	A personal representative may be appointed by a participant and is authorised to act on behalf of a participant in relation to the NCSR. This is recognised by the NCSR Act 2016.
PRODA	PRODA is an online authentication system, operated by Services Australia, used by healthcare providers to securely access certain online services including HPOS and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, also known as the NDIS. Designed as a two-step verification process, it requires a username, password and verification code to login.
Requests to the NCSR	A request to the NCSR can be made under the National Cancer Screening Register Act 2016 to: Nominate a healthcare provider Request a replacement bowel test kit Defer next screening date (or participation) Cease correspondence (cervical and lung programs only) Opt out of or resume participation in a screening program Nominate a pseudonym
Resume Participation	A request to the NCSR by an eligible participant, their personal representative, or healthcare provider, who has previously been excluded or opted out of a screening program facilitated by the NCSR and wishes to resume participation. This is also referred to as withdrawing the opt out request.
Telstra Health	The contracted service provider for the operation and management of the NCSR in accordance with a service agreement with the Australian Government.