Laboratory restructuring in metropolitan Edmonton: a model for laboratory reorganization in Canada

In 1994 the Alberta government acted to reduce to a decade-long deficit in the provincial budget with draconian reductions in the health, education and welfare expenditures. As a result, funding to Alberta clinical laboratories was to be reduced by approximately 40%. In response, the private and pub...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Clinica chimica acta Vol. 290; no. 1; pp. 73 - 91
Main Authors:	Fagg, Kelly L., Gordon, Phil, Reib, Bonnie, McGann, Joseph T., Higa, Thomas E., Kinniburgh, David W., Cembrowski, George S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-12-1999
Subjects:	Alberta Budgets Clinical Laboratory Information Systems Evaluation Studies as Topic Health Expenditures Hospital Shared Services - economics Hospital Shared Services - organization & administration Hospitals, Urban - economics Hospitals, Urban - organization & administration Laboratories, Hospital - economics Laboratories, Hospital - organization & administration Models, Organizational Organizational Innovation Alberta RAH: Royal Alexandra Hospital CPGs: Clinical Practice Guidelines LIS: Laboratory Information System DKML: Dynacare Kasper Medical Laboratories AMA: Alberta Medical Association CLPL: Common Laboratory Procedure List ADT: Admit, Discharge, Transfer FTE: Full Time Equivalent RHA: Regional Health Authority CHA: Capital Health Authority ICU: Intensive Care Unit RFP: Request for Proposal RRL: Rapid Response Laboratory UAH: University of Alberta Hospital
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Summary:	In 1994 the Alberta government acted to reduce to a decade-long deficit in the provincial budget with draconian reductions in the health, education and welfare expenditures. As a result, funding to Alberta clinical laboratories was to be reduced by approximately 40%. In response, the private and public laboratories in metropolitan Edmonton formed a unique alliance to provide laboratory testing in a more coordinated and efficient manner. Of the five metropolitan hospitals, only University of Alberta Hospital preserved its full service laboratory and its specialty reference testing. The other hospital laboratories were converted to rapid response laboratories with a merged private reference laboratory providing routine testing and support to the four hospitals, and far fewer outpatient collection facilities. This paper describes the steps in the laboratory restructuring from inception to execution.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0009-8981 1873-3492
DOI:	10.1016/S0009-8981(99)00178-3