June 11, 2021
EDMONTON – Alberta Health Services (AHS) has identified DynaLIFE Medical Labs as the preferred proponent to provide community laboratory services in Alberta.
AHS and Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) will now enter into negotiations with DynaLIFE for a contract for the delivery of laboratory services. The selection of a preferred proponent to enter into contract discussions is the result of a Request for Proposals (RFP) process launched in December 2020.
Contracting of community-related lab service is expected to provide Albertans with a high level of service, greater efficiency and more consistency in routine lab service over the long term. DynaLIFE has been a partner in delivering laboratory services in Edmonton and North zone for more than 25 years.
“AHS continues to pursue innovative approaches of delivering critical healthcare services more efficiently while enhancing care for all Albertans,” says Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health. “Contracting community lab services has long been identified as an opportunity to generate greater value for our healthcare dollars, and we are committed to ensuring Albertans continue to receive the high quality lab service that is at the heart of patient diagnosis and treatment across the healthcare spectrum.”
“Working with private-sector partners is one of the areas we are exploring to enhance service for patients when it comes to routine, high-volume lab testing,” said AHS President & CEO Dr. Verna Yiu. “At the same time, Alberta Precision Laboratories will continue providing the specialized lab testing, research and innovation that is critical to Alberta’s provincial lab system, such as the COVID-19 testing program that has been a pillar of our pandemic response.”
Transition of any impacted APL staff will be determined upon completion of the negotiation process. DynaLIFE currently provides approximately 70 per cent of the community lab service in AHS’s Edmonton and North zones, under contract to AHS.
In order to ensure that small rural and remote communities continue to receive the service they need, hospital and local clinic sites that currently handle less than 25,000 blood test collections per year will continue to do so by APL. APL will continue to provide lab service for acute care hospital facilities across the province.
AHS secured a third-party sourcing facilitator to lead the RFP process. The evaluation of proposals included a detailed analysis by a panel that included medical/scientific experts, laboratory operations professionals and financial analysts.
AHS will begin working with DynaLIFE on a transition plan and will share more information about next steps with staff and community members in a timely fashion.
