Kincardine med clinic secures laboratory services
The Kincardine Community Medical Clinic will continue to provide blood work and laboratory services.
Gerry Glover, executive director of the Kincardine Family Health Team, announced last week that the clinic was successful in negotiating an agreement with LifeLabs to provide phlebotomy and laboratory services.
“We appreciate and recognize the level of comfort patients expect and currently experience while attending the lab and as such, the phlebotomist currently in place will remain under the agreement,” Glover said in a media release.
LifeLabs will begin providing expanded service in Kincardine, beginning March 5. Patients will now be able to access laboratory services on Fridays.
Glover told The Independent Friday that LifeLabs will cover the cost of the phlebotomist while the medical clinic will cover capital costs, such as supplies.
“They (LifeLabs) decided to step up to the plate, recognizing that there is a service gap in the community,” he said. “They are very proactive and are all about patient care.”
There were concerns last year that the laboratory in the medical clinic could close after the province announced last October that it was changing the fee code to medical practices for phlebotomy services.
The changes drastically reduced the amount of funding community medical clinics receive for laboratory services. The laboratory at the medical clinic serves as many as 50 people per day. The Kincardine hospital handles roughly half of outpatient blood work in the community, but the South Bruce Grey Health Centre does not receive government funding to perform routine blood tests.
“It is essential to note that this agreement would not have been possible had it not been for the commitment to quality healthcare by the community physicians and our strategic partner, LifeLabs,” Glover said. “Patients will not experience any disruption in the quality of care they receive under the agreement, and the mechanism to access phlebotomy and laboratory services at the clinic will remain the same.”
Beginning March 5, laboratory hours will be Monday to Friday from