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Release of Results Directly to Patients

The Alberta Health Information Act provides individuals with a right to access their own health information. CLS recognizes this right of individual access and will, with limited exceptions, provide patients with access to their laboratory information.

• CLS encourages patients to obtain their test results through consultation with the ordering physician.
• Consistent with the requirements of the Health Information Act, CLS has established policies and procedures for receiving and responding to requests from individuals wishing to access their own laboratory information.

Patients wishing to access their information are asked to call the CLS Laboratory Information Center.

Patients wishing to obtain a copies of lab reports from CLS for other reasons than self-monitoring and therapy will be required to submit their request in writing and pay a $25 administrative fee for handling the request.

CLS will use discretion when responding to a request from a patient wishing to exercise their right to access their own laboratory information, and will give due consideration to potential harm to the patient from obtaining their results without the advantage of physician consultation.

The laboratory takes into consideration the following before providing patients access to their own laboratory results:

• The nature of the results requested
• The probability that the ordering/attending physician has had an opportunity to review the laboratory finding with the patient
• The opinion of a physician that the release of results directly to the patient would be harmful to the individual. 

• CLS releases results directly to patients on a need to know basis when timely access to results is required by patients who are actively involved in self-monitoring and therapy. For example, the laboratory routinely releases INR, glucose, urinalysis and throat swab results directly to patients.

CLS will, at the request of the ordering physician, release other general lab results directly to patients involved in self-monitoring and therapy.  Note: the exception to this policy is pregnancy test results, which CLS requires patients to obtain directly from the physician.

• CLS will, at the request of the patient, forward results relevant to the nature of care to other health service providers who are or may become involved in the care of the patient.

Physician questions regarding CLS policy and practices for release of results directly to patients may be directed to the VP Medical Operations or the CLS Information Access and Quality Advisor.

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