Alberta’s medical lab mayhem during privatization shows importance of oversight on errors, doctors say – CBC

Auditor general is investigating after province abandoned privatization of community lab services

Nov 03, 2023

Doctors and researchers say a series of U-turns on privatizing laboratory services in Alberta has short-changed patients facing delays in diagnosis and treatment, creating chaos that offers lessons for other parts of the country.

In Alberta, responsibility for lab testing at facilities outside hospitals switched between public and private hands several times over nearly three decades.

Last year, the United Conservative Party (UCP) government privatized the province’s community lab services in a deal with Dynalife Medical Labs.

Within months of the long-planned takeover, lab testing backlogs for patients grew onerous. In August, the province announced all of its labs would be brought back under the government-owned Alberta Precision Labs (APL) by the end of 2023.

Alberta’s medical lab mayhem during privatization shows importance of oversight on errors, doctors say – CBC

NationTalk Partners & Sponsors Learn More