The Laboratory Medicine Program’s staff plays a key role in patient care. (Photo: Laboratory Medicine Program)
UHN's Laboratory Medicine Program is the largest diagnostic lab in Canada and is a global leader as a provider of complex, speciality laboratory medicine.
This week is National Med Lab Week (NMLW) and UHN is proud to recognize and celebrate the critical role UHN's medical laboratory professionals have in patient care and driving health-care decisions every day.
Every day, technologists and other laboratory professionals work alongside UHN's programs, departments and clinical areas to achieve best practices and act as nationwide leaders in research and education.
The medical activities and advancements undertaken by the Laboratory Medicine Program help us reach our common strategic goals of being a global leader in health care.
With over 500 lab staff spread across all UHN sites, our lab professionals are integral members of health-care teams. They perform a wide variety of duties in order to make sure our patients and clinicians have an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis.
Do you know someone who has received a transplant, survived a heart attack, manages diabetes, or received a blood transfusion?
The Laboratory Medicine Program works to help these patients and every UHN patient is impacted by the work of the members of the lab team.
How do lab professionals serve our patients?
Our lab professionals support our patients by:
- Drawing blood in our blood collection areas
- Handling and sorting thousands of specimens daily
- Reviewing patient tissue acquired through clinical biopsy and surgical procedures
- Performing molecular diagnostic tests (this is personalized medicine, happening right in our clinical lab!)
- Performing high volume, complex testing in our rapid response and core labs
- Preparing units of blood for transfusion
- Overseeing the laboratory information system
- Managing handheld and point-of-care testing devices, such as glucose meters
You might not see the lab professionals every day, but if you can, take time this week to thank them for the valuable role they play in the delivery of quality patient care.
Did you know?
- Medical Laboratory Technologists are the third largest regulated health-care profession.
- In order to practice, members must be in good standing with the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario.
- Up to 85 per cent of decisions about diagnosis and treatment are based on laboratory test results.
- The professionals employed within the division have expertise in Anatomic Pathology, Biochemistry, Hematology, Flow Cytometry, BioBanking, Point of Care Testing, Information Services, Histocompatibility, Blood Transfusion, Molecular Genetics, Cytology, Microbiology and Phlebotomy – and many more!
