All doctors and dentists are entitled to report incident cancer cases to the notification office of the cancer registry. After coding of the tumour data it is entered and stored in a temporary database. During data entry extensive plausibility controls are conducted. Subsequently, encryption of the personal identification data by an asymmetric RSA - method takes place. Decryption requires an electronic key which is held, for security reasons, in the Data and Information Centre of Rhineland-Palatinate, a location separate to the offices of the Cancer Registry.
Decryption is only possible in defined circumstances.
The encrypted records are sent to the registration office, which performs record linkage and stores the encrypted data permanently. The use of a one-way algorithm prevents any direct decryption of the personal identification data. If the record linkage reveals any questions, these are reported back to the notification office which may contact the reporting physician. Death certificates with a tumour diagnosis are also sent to the notification office from the public health departments of Rhineland-Palatinate. They are handled in the same way as notification forms.