When Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Becomes a Commodity and Health Care Becomes Both Its Customer and Owner

Abstract

The purpose of this Op-Ed is to provide readers with an update on the provision of academic pathology and laboratory services in Alberta and across Canada. It builds on an article “Calgary Laboratory Services: a unique Canadian academic model following provincial integration of public, private, and academic laboratories” that was published by Academic Pathology in 2015.1 This Op-Ed documents that the Calgary Laboratory Services’ (CLS) model is presently expanding across Canada, updates and analyzes recent changes in Alberta, and suggests lessons learned from the model’s evolution.