Privatization of Alberta community lab services sparks concerns

Will previous blood work requisitions be honoured? Will walk-ins still be available?

These are some of the questions that Albertans have as the privatization of community lab services in the province goes ahead.

You will notice a change the next time you head to a location to get blood work done.

Effective Dec. 5, Alberta Precision Laboratory has been privatized. In addition to this change, hospitals and urgent care sites will stop taking outpatient lab requests, and will redirect patients to community labs.

Under contract to AHS, Edmonton-based DynaLIFE Medical Labs is now responsible for about 65 per cent of provincial lab work, including in Calgary, amounting to almost 50 million tests per year.

Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) says with privatization, there is a lot of ambiguity around the future of walk-ins at these labs.

“I have heard from members on the front lines talking about a system where there is no walk-in anymore. Now, again, what this tells you is that for-profit organizations are adjusting their service model based on the most efficient model to put people through. If I went to the doctor this morning and he said, I need to go get this work done this afternoon. And now I can’t queue in. So how many days and these micro delays is all part of the issue that comes in the global treatment of a patient.”

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In a statement to CityNews, AHS says Albertans can call or book online appointments at qme.dynalife.ca and also walk into a DynaLIFE lab.

“The launch of DynaLIFE’s Q.Me appointment system provides patients with more ways to access lab services. Walk-in visits are always an option and may be a good choice if you are not fasting or do not require a special collection,” Kelly Morris, senior communications advisor at AHS said.

AHS adds the transition will improve lab services for Albertans and create savings that will be reinvested into our healthcare services, yet some within the health sector are concerned.

Chris Gallaway, the executive director of Friends of Medicare, says, overall, this continues to be a bad deal for Albertans, though it’s a sweet deal for DynaLIFE.

“DynaLIFE is taking over the majority of our community lab services, which means we’re giving up control. We have a fragmented system now, where some communities will have DynaLIFE, others will still have public lab services. We’re also quite concerned about the workers in the system, who have kind of been tossed back and forth over the years with Calgary public labs and Alberta public labs and now DynaLIFE,” Gallaway said.

The HSAA worries this transition is not as smooth as being claimed. Parker says the frontline workers involved are suffering the most.

“The employer (DynaLIFE) is saying absolutely no to their (frontline workers) retirement security in the form that it is under a pension. There is apprehension about shifts schedule, worksites, locations. Heck, I even got one person saying the gloves that they require, are not provided by this new employer. And these are from the front lines. These are from workers, who are going to be making this transition,” Parker said.