Aline Letourneau, MLT, Regional General Manager, Timmins Cluster Laboratory Services
Feature
The practice of medical
laboratory technology in
a rural setting
I
n Ontario, many laboratories in
rural settings are quite small and
it is not uncommon that a laboratory with only one or two Medical
Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) delivers laboratory services to a population.
Sometimes a phlebotomist may also be
employed. These laboratories are still
expected to cover all the disciplines of a
core laboratory which include Hematology/Coagulation, Transfusion Medicine,
and Chemistry.
In a smaller rural setting, following a
patient’s testing progress and diagnostics
typically becomes simplified, as it is easy
for collaboration among MLTs when all
disciplines are located in one room.
The test menu is comprised mainly of
routine tests. In order to maintain sample
integrity, distances between sites may be
a factor in determining choice of menu.
Forming partnerships with neighboring
sites allows rural hospitals an improved
menu of tests, thus improving patient care
for a region.
Because of familiarity with the equipment and instruments, you will often find
MLTs also acting as service engineers. In
order to minimize downtime, in the event
of equipment breakdown or malfunction,
they will often attempt repairs while troubleshooting.
Timmins and District Hospital
Forming partnerships with neighboring sites allows rural hospitals an improved menu of tests, thus improving patient care
for a region.
Some sites will have call-back for after hours and on weekends but to help the
smallest of the laboratories, Point-of-Care
Testing (POCT) is used. POCT allows for
the continuation of patient care while allowing MLTs to have a better quality of
life. Call-back requirements and coverage
for vacation or sick time is greatly reduced.
The advent of newer and better technologies for POCT has allowed their use to
improve turn-around times and improve
patient outcomes. Having said that, in order for POCT to work well, strong inter-
MIC Group of Health Services, Bingham Memorial Hospital
ADVOCATE, Volume 21/Issue 4 Winter 2015
professional working relationships between
the laboratory and nursing is imperative.
A robust POCT program set up with the
commitment and collaboration of all players (administration, physicians, nursing,
and other health professionals) will ensure
good quality care for patients.
A new technology which is helping to
connect patients from rural areas to specialists in larger settings is digital imaging
of both pathology and hematology slides.
Continued on page 6
Anson General Hospital
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By digitizing the images on a slide, whether
from a peripheral blood smear or pathology
Lady Minto Hospital
6
slide, the Hematopathologist or Pathologist
can review slides remotely, bringing this
expertise closer to rural patients and improving turn-around times.
Smaller rural settings are facing the same
budget constraints and human resource
challenges as in urban centres and are still
expected to offer good quality, patientcentered care. The introduction of POCT
technology and digital imaging are but two
aspects which help our smaller rural sites
to deliver both.
The Timmins Cluster Laboratory
Services Partnership – comprised of laboratories located in Hornepayne, Hearst,
Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Matheson, Timmins, Kirkland Lake, Englehart, with
Medical Directorship from University
Health Network, strives to ensure that
laboratories continue to meet the standards required by the provincial accreditation body. ❖
ADVOCATE, Volume 21/Issue 4 Winter 2015