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Laboratory Medicine Program

Our Laboratories

This year, UHN Labs achieved program status to become officially known as the Laboratory Medicine Program (LMP). With over 80 percent of doctors’ diagnoses and treatments based on lab results, laboratory medical professionals are an integral part of patient care within the hospital setting.

LMP strives to achieve excellence in three pillars: teaching, research and clinical service. It is the largest academic laboratory medicine program in Canada and ranks among the world’s top five most active teaching and research laboratories. With more than 400 staff, LMP performs over 12 million complex and routine tests annually for UHN and other health care organizations.

Patient safety is a constant focus at LMP. This year, Transfusion Medicine piloted a “second sample initiative” that draws two distinct specimens from a patient to provide further assurance that we have the correct blood group for that patient. The pilot has been a success, and as a result, we have recently revised our policies on the appropriate use of blood components in an effort to cut back on unnecessary transfusions, thereby helping us manage often-scare supplies of blood.

Remaining at the forefront of technology is another priority for LMP. Telepathology—which offers the expertise of UHN's highly specialized pathologists online through digital imaging—continues to include new northern hospital partners, granting equal access to patients across the province and, in the future, will enhance pathology across Canada.

In the Molecular Diagnostics and Cancer Cytogenetics labs—the largest cancer genetics testing service in Canada—sophisticated tests analyze chromosomes and mutations in tissue, blood or bone marrow of patients with cancers and enable personalized medicine. This year, we added KRas testing to the diagnostic toolbox—a test used to detect low levels of DNA mutations and anticipate a patient’s response to certain treatments.