Get to Know ONCO: Linda Perkins, MHE, RHIT, ODS-C

ONCO > Get to Know ONCO: Linda Perkins, MHE, RHIT, ODS-C

Get to Know ONCO: Linda Perkins, MHE, RHIT, ODS-C

Linda Perkins, MHE, RHIT, ODS-C, Team Leader, Quality Control

Can you tell us what got you into the Cancer Registry field?

I was looking for a career change from the clinical side of community mental health work and our medical record director suggested I look into becoming an RHIT. During my coursework I learned about the tumor registry and decided that was a good fit and was lucky enough to be hired into a tumor registry where I worked for a year and then sat for the CTR exam.

As a longtime Onco user, what is your favorite feature? 

When I have my abstractor hat on, I love the layout of the abstract and how it just meshes so nicely with the way I conceptualize a case and abstract. But as a Quality Control Team Leader, when I need to review a specific set of data fields, the Ad-Hoc Reports section makes designing reports very easy and quick.

You’ve been at Onco for a couple months now, what is something you’ve learned since joining the team?

I’ve learned what is probably the most important reason for quality control…more is better. Meaning, our quality control staff are constantly sharing information among our QC team and then disseminating it to all our great oncology specialists. This is how we change and refine our skills as oncology specialists.

As a Quality Control Team Leader, from your perspective what is the value of having quality control performed in the Registry?

I would have to say that quality control is perhaps the most important function in a cancer registry. As individuals we are all required to obtain further education every two years, but that is no guarantee that an abstractor will change their practice. Performing regular quality checks both educates the abstractor on new concepts and provides affirming feedback to the abstractor about their strengths.

Tell us about yourself outside of work. What do you like to do in your free time?  

I recently got married and moved to Florida where my husband Tom and I enjoy the pool nearly year-round. Our dog, Kai, would also like to enjoy the pool, however that is frowned upon in our community.