Department of Medicine Weekly Roundup - May 1 - Impact to Biochemistry Lab testing
On Tuesday May 7, 2024 the Biochemistry Division will be transitioning to new instrumentation at St Michael’s Hospital. The lab will be without automation for 3 months, which will require manual handling of all samples that come to the chemistry lab. This includes tests such as electrolytes, creatinine, troponin and endocrine tests, etc.
While the lab will do their best to limit the impact on patient care, please expect some delays in testing during this transition period. We are unable to process add-on testing during this transition period without automation (approximately 3 months).
|
Topic |
Expectations/Action |
|
Add-on testing |
° No add-on testing will be possible for the next 3 months ° Collect another tube will be the requirement |
|
Testing delays |
° Critical care and STAT samples will be prioritized during this transition ° Expect delays up to 6-8 hours for routine testing, but note the lab will do everything to minimize delays |
|
Reference Ranges |
° Be mindful that some assays will have reference range updates |
Thank you for your patience with us while we work to make meaningful laboratory improvements at St. Michael’s Hospital and across Unity Health.
If you have any questions, please reach out to any member of the Unity Health Biochemistry team.
Daniel Beriault, MSc, PhD, FCACBHead of Biochemistry[email protected] Sarah Delaney, PhD, DABCC, FCACBClinical Biochemist[email protected] Jeff Companion, MLTLaboratory Manager[email protected]