Department of Medicine Weekly Roundup - August 30 - Impact to Biochemistry Lab testing at St. Michael's
Date: August 26, 2024
Subject: Impact to Biochemistry Lab testing at St. Michael's
Starting today, August 26, until September 6, the Biochemistry Division is entering the final stage of implementing new instrumentation/automation at St Michael’s Hospital. The chemistry lab will have an overall reduced capacity during this time period, as all chemistry specimens will require manual handling for processing in the 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 final transition period. Emergency department, critical care, and trauma specimens will be prioritized.
Please note the following expectations/actions:
- 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 that 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 Toronto. If you have any questions, please reach out to any member of the Unity Health Biochemistry team:
Daniel Beriault
Head of Biochemistry
[email protected]
Sarah Delaney
Clinical Biochemist
[email protected]
Jeff Companion
Laboratory Manager
[email protected]