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Individuals cannot order tests themselves, due to provincial regulatory requirements, but if you are interested in having a specific laboratory test performed, please ask your health care provider if the test is appropriate for you, and if he or she can order the test(s) for you. To facilitate your discussion, it might be helpful to bring your health care provider a printed copy of the brochure or page from our website where you learned about the test.

Most test orders are valid for at least 6 months (unless your health care provider has specified otherwise). If your lab testing order is more than 6 months old, please contact your health care provider for a new form.

Your role in the performance of a lab test is to provide a specimen that will be analyzed in a laboratory. The specimen you provide might be a small amount of a body fluid, such as blood, saliva, semen, or urine, or a sample of stool or hair. You can be assured that Dynacare staff will make the specimen collection process as safe, quick, and comfortable as possible while safeguarding your dignity and privacy.
When visiting your health care provider, ask what test is being performed, why the test needs to be done, what you can expect the procedure to be like, when you can expect to hear about your test results, and how the test results will affect the course of your care.

Sometimes special preparation is required to improve the accuracy of a test. This may involve fasting (not eating any or certain foods) for several hours or even overnight, drinking more or less water than usual, or avoiding certain medications or vitamin and herbal supplements before the test. If you are delivering a specimen to the lab, there might be special instructions for transporting the specimen. Your health care provider should provide you with written instructions for preparing for your test. Follow those instructions exactly as they are written. If you are not certain if special preparation is required, or if you have questions about the instructions you were given, contact your health care provider’s office.
If you did not follow the test preparation instructions you received from your health care provider, let the staff at our location know about this before your specimen is collected.

Some blood tests do require fasting prior to having your blood drawn. Please contact your health care provider to determine his/her requirements for your specific testing.

We have laboratory and health services centres in more than 200 locations across Canada. You may go to any centre in your area. We will collect your sample and transport it using our Dynacare logistics team to the appropriate laboratory. Your health care provider will receive your test results just as quickly, no matter which of our facilities you go to for your tests. To find the most convenient location for you, or for more information about all Dynacare locations, please use our Location Finder tool.

Find a convenient location with our Location Finder tool. The address, hours, phone number, directions (map) and services provided are listed for each location.

Days and hours of operation differ from location to location.

We set our days and hours of operation to meet the needs of the health care providers and patients in each community. We review the hours regularly to be sure that we continue to provide our services when they are needed most.

Each location’s hours of operation is included in our Location Finder tool.

Find the location you are interested in visiting using our Location Finder tool to see the days and hours the location is open, maps and driving directions.

For routine testing, our locations offer walk-in service.  Please know that our locations are busiest in the early morning when patients who are required to fast for testing often choose to arrive. Your wait will usually be shorter after 10AM. You may wish to consider arriving after that time.

We recommend you bring a completed test requisition or order form from your health care provider and your provincial medical insurance card (or photo ID) in order to expedite your visit.

ECG services are available at most locations. Please use our Location Finder tool to see if the location you plan to visit offers these services. 

We also provide Holter monitoring at many locations. Please use our Location Finder tool to see if the location you plan to visit offers these services.  You will need to book an appointment in advance. 

When visiting one of our locations, you should bring the following information with you:
 

• The Dynacare test request form from a health care provider requesting laboratory testing
• A current provincial health insurance identification card
• A photo ID (for example, a driver's license or employee identification badge)
• A health spending account card, credit card, or bank account debit card

Generally, minors must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.  Dynacare is required to obtain authorization for the collection procedure and the billing of tests as ordered by a health care provider.  If you are not the child’s legal guardian, you may need to provide a notarized statement signed by the minor’s parent or legal guardian that authorizes you to provide this permission.

Drug testing note:  You may not bring children inside the collection area during a drug screen procedure.

Yes. We have personnel who collect specimens from elderly and infirm patients in their homes and from patients in long-term care facilities. This mobile lab service is provided in a number of communities and is available at the request of a health care provider.

Dynacare – Net Check In is an electronic check-in service that allows you to join the line for laboratory & health services from our free mobile app or from our website, before you arrive at our locations.

Dynacare - Net Check In is currently offered in Ontario, Manitoba, and Quebec.

With Dynacare – Net Check In, you can see the current wait time at our locations in Ontario, Manitoba, and Quebec.  You can join the line at our location with the shortest wait time, factoring in your travel time, without leaving your home.  Your wait time will be reduced to your travel time to get to the location.

There are two ways to access Dynacare – Net Check In.  
 

1. Download our free mobile app, “Dynacare – Net Check In”, at either the Apple or Google app stores. 
2. Select Find a Location or Check In Online on our website, Dynacare.ca, and access this service directly when you search for locations in Ontario, Manitoba, or Quebec.

 
In either case, you will be able to check-in electronically to one of our locations by following a few simple steps:
Step 1:  Access the tool any one of the ways mentioned above
Step 2:  Tap/click on the location you want to visit
Step 3:  Enter your first name, last initial, your phone number (optional), number of guests (1 if just yourself) and select the consent box to receive a notification
Step 4:  Tap/click "Continue Check In"
Step 5:  Select your service and tap/click "Finish Check In"

As soon as you check in electronically to one of our locations, you can watch your estimated wait time count down. You will also receive a notification when your estimated wait time is 10 minutes if you consented to notifications.  
 
Here are the next steps 

• Arrive at the location before your estimated wait time provided at the time of completing your electronic check in.
• When you arrive, please join our screening line and confirm your online check-in with our staff. 
• After screening, our staff will notify you as soon as it’s your turn to be served.
• Go to the front of the screening line and let the staff know when you have returned.
• You will now be asked to go inside our reception area. Let the staff at the front desk inside the reception area know you have arrived.  
• Inside our wait room, you will see your first name on our TV monitor, indicating your place in line.

 
Please be at the location before your estimated wait time to complete the screening process. After completion of your screening, if you are asked to return to the location, please return as soon as you have received the notification.  We cannot guarantee your spot in the wait list, if you are not at the location at the appointed time.

If you choose not to use Dynacare – Net Check In, the process for checking in and getting your lab work done will remain unchanged.  When you arrive, please join our screening line. You will be placed in line along with other people who have joined in-person or electronically using Dynacare – Net Check In.  After screening, our staff will notify you as soon as it’s your turn to be served. Inside our wait room, you will see your first name on our TV monitor, indicating your place in line.

People who have checked in using Dynacare – Net Check In may not actually arrive at the location until it is their turn in line.  While it may appear they are getting ahead in the line, they have actually checked in previously.  You will be able to see your place in line in our wait room on our TV monitor.

If you are using Dynacare – Net Check In on our mobile app, you can allow Dynacare – Net Check In to access your location while you are using the app. Ensure you have enabled Location Services for the app through your mobile device Settings. This will allow your current location to be used to find Dynacare locations closest to you and display them on the map.

You will receive a notification when your service time is in 10 minutes.

If you are using the Dynacare – Net Check In mobile app, you will see the notification in the Notification Centre on your device.  To access your Notification Centre, swipe your device screen from top to bottom. 

If you are using our website, you will see the notification in your Text Messages on your device. To access your Text Messages, tap the Text Message app on your device.

As part of the process to check-in on our website, you need to provide your phone number and give consent to receive text message notifications. If either of these is not provided, you will not receive a text message.
 
If you have checked in on our Dynacare – Net Check In mobile app, you will receive push notifications, not text notifications, to your mobile device.

If you are using Dynacare – Net Check In on our mobile app, you can allow Dynacare – Net Check In to send you push notifications. Ensure you have enabled Notifications for the app through your mobile device Settings. Notifications may include alerts, sounds, and icon badges.

Like all mobile applications, Dynacare – Net Check In periodically goes through system updates, minor bug fixes, and feature enhancements. Ensure your mobile device is running on the latest version of the operating system, and you’re running the latest version of the Dynacare – Net Check In app.

Dynacare – Net Check In does not offer appointments.

Innovative Computer Software, or ICS, is the company that developed the Dynacare – Net Check In solution.  Their software is being used at retailers and healthcare companies across North America.  You can learn more about them at icsusa.com.

Laboratory tests are usually done on body fluids, most often blood and urine.  Likely, we'll collect a small amount of blood from you or we'll ask you to collect a sample of your urine.

Fasting is required for some laboratory tests so we might ask you not to eat or drink anything for several hours before your lab test. For more information on preparing for tests, please see the “Preparing for a Lab Test” section, above.

Generally, a visit takes only 10 to 20 minutes.  However, during peak periods before 10AM, visits can take longer.  For some tests, you must stay longer in the lab or you may have to make an appointment to come back after a period of not eating or drinking.

Yes, please. We will do everything we can to make you comfortable and tell you in advance what to expect. Today, blood specimen collections procedures are quick and easy.

Yes, please. Our employees are highly skilled, but you know more about your own body. We count on you to tell us if you've had any problems in the past. We will do our best to make sure that things go smoothly.

The amount of blood we take depends on the tests your health care provider has ordered.

However, modern laboratory equipment lets us perform many tests on a small sample of blood. What may appear to be a lot of blood is usually no more than a teaspoon or two.

Because the amount of blood removed is small, you should not feel any ill effects.

Tests are performed at a number of different laboratories. Most tests are performed at our main testing facilities. Some tests are performed at hospital or public health laboratories.  Dynacare’s logistics team makes sure that the samples get to the right testing lab quickly and safely.

Most tests are completed and reported to your ordering health care provider within about 24 hours of receiving the sample for testing. Certain tests take several days to weeks. Results are sent directly to the ordering health care provider. Please ask your health care provider to contact you when your test results have been received.

There are a number of ways your health care provider can receive results. The most common is a paper report distributed by our courier delivery system. Some health care providers prefer to use a secure electronic link between their computer system and the Dynacare computer network. We have special procedures in place to alert health care providers of results that they need to know urgently.

In general, the health care provider who ordered the test or a member of his or her office staff will contact you regarding your test results.

Patients may receive lab test results directly after those results have been released to the ordering health care provider using Dynacare Plus.  Dynacare Plus is a secure web-based service that allows you to view, download, and print your Dynacare lab test results.  Currently, Dynacare Plus is available in Ontario and Quebec only.  To learn more, please visit dynacareplus.com.

Please do not contact the lab where your specimen was collected with questions about your test results.

In Manitoba, we can only provide results directly to you in certain circumstances and if your health care provider has authorized their release.  Please refer to our Privacy Policy for more information.

In Ontario and Quebec, you can receive your results directly through Dynacare Plus.  Please visit us at dynacareplus.com.

There are several ways to access your lab test results:

1. Talk to your health care provider to get a copy of your results
2. Ask your health care provider to be “CC’d” on your results
3. For Ontario Quebec patients, register for Dynacare Plus at dynacareplus.com

Please contact the health care provider who prescribed the test if you have any questions.

No. Please contact the health care provider who prescribed the test for a copy.

Please let our staff know the date of your surgery and the name of your hospital. We will ensure the hospital receives your results before your surgery date.

You might be tested for a variety of reasons:  e.g., because of a problem you've reported to your health care provider, to check on a condition that has already been diagnosed, or maybe to see how you're responding to prescribed medication.  These are just some of the reasons why your health care provider might ask for a lab test.

There are hundreds of tests that could be ordered for different reasons. Also, different combinations of tests may be ordered for different reasons. That's why our staff can't answer any questions about why your health care provider has ordered a certain test or what he or she is looking for.  Your health care provider is the best person to answer any questions you may have.

In Ontario and Manitoba, most routine medical laboratory tests are paid for by provincial health insurance plans. For these tests, Gamma-Dynacare bills your provincial health insurance plan directly.
If a test is not covered by a provincial government plan, you must pay for the test and then seek reimbursement from your employment or private health care plan, if applicable.
In Quebec, the fees for all routine medical laboratory tests conducted by a community laboratory are paid by the patient at the time the service is provided and reimbursed by most group medical insurance plans. Please check with your private medical insurance provider regarding the admissibility of medical laboratory testing.

We were unable to submit a claim to the government plan for your test because the information provided did not match records at the Ministry or Department of Health in your province. Please verify that your correct health card, version code and date of birth appear on the invoice and if there is an error, contact our office at 800.668.2714 to update your records.

Quebec patients: Please note that the fees for all routine medical laboratory tests conducted by a community laboratory are paid by the patient at the time the service is provided and reimbursed by most group medical plans.  Please check with your private medical insurance provider regarding the admissibility of medical laboratory testing.

If you are a member of this program, you will have been issued IFH documents.  To process your claim, we require the 8-digit Client ID and Expiry Date.   Please contact our office and submit your information by telephone at 800.668.2714 or by fax at 905.790.3055.

In Ontario, for men who are eligible under Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care guidelines, the cost of a Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test is covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).  Please check with your physician or nurse practitioner to find out if you meet the Ministry’s criteria for insured PSA testing.  Patients in other provinces should check with their provincial Ministry of Health for eligibility requirements.

For payments made at any Gamma-Dynacare location, receipts will be issued at the time of payment.  When making payments online, a confirmation number and payment notification will be emailed to you at the time of payment.  If you are paying by mail, please indicate that a receipt is required when enclosing your payment stub.

How tests are paid for depends on where you live and the specific test. In Canada, most routine tests are covered under provincial/territorial government programs.

In Ontario and Manitoba, Dynacare bills your provincial health insurance plan directly.  Some tests are not covered by government plans and must be paid for by the patient.  Many of these tests may be reimbursed by employee health insurance plans.

In Quebec, Dynacare bills you directly.  In many cases, your test may be covered by private insurance and you can submit a claim for partial or full reimbursement.

We must be sure that we identify every patient accurately by name, address, and / or other personal information. To be absolutely sure of accuracy, we will ask you for this information each time you visit one of our facilities.

We need to know your age because lab results can mean different things depending on a patient's age and sex.  A lab result that's "normal" for a 60 year-old woman may not be normal for a 5 year-old boy.

If your health care provider orders certain tests, we might ask you when you last ate or when you last took your medication. We need to know this so that your health care provider can fully understand the meaning of the test result.
 

Our employees enter all the information from you and your health care provider into our computer system. The computer produces printed labels that go on every container or test tube that holds your specimens.

At Dynacare we use bar code scanning, much like the kind you see in grocery and department stores.  In our bar code system every patient receives a unique number every time he or she visits one of our locations. The bar code forms part of the label on your specimen containers. This sophisticated system ensures that your name and specimen are accurately matched all the way through the testing process.

For further information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
 

Yes. Your medical information is confidential. The results of your laboratory tests are given only to your health care provider and, if your health care provider asks us, we will report the results to another health care provider. For example, your health care provider may have referred you to a specialist health care provider who also needs to see your lab reports. On very rare occasions, full disclosure of the contents of a medical record may be required by a court of law.

For further information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
 

Medical laboratories perform the tests ordered by health care providers to help diagnose, treat and monitor their patients.  When your health care provider orders a lab test, we collect a specimen, usually a small sample of blood, urine or other body fluid. We test the specimen and report the result to the health care provider who ordered the tests.

Dynacare operates networks of laboratory and health services centres, where samples are collected from patients who are not in hospital. These samples are transported by our couriers and, in most cases, tested in our network of Dynacare laboratories. Hospital laboratories focus mainly on patients who are in hospital.

Many hospitals also send some of their samples to Dynacare laboratories for testing and in some cases Dynacare manages the hospital's lab.

All medical laboratories must meet strict accreditation standards. This means that the quality of laboratory testing is extremely high, no matter which type of laboratory performs the test.
 

We are one of Canada’s leading providers of diagnostic testing, information, and services. Our clinical laboratory testing services include:  blood tests, body fluid testing, tissue pathology and cytology, health screening and monitoring tests, drug screening and testing as well as gene-based testing (genetic testing).  Please visit our Find a Test tool for a full menu of tests we offer.

Absolutely not. The needle we use to draw your blood is sterile. Each needle is packaged individually and used only once.  The cap is always removed immediately before the needle is used. Immediately after its use, the needle is discarded according to strict biohazard waste disposal regulations.

When you have a blood test, nothing goes into your system. Your specimen is taken into a tube that has a vacuum. When the needle tip goes into your skin, the blood in your vein rushes in to fill the vacuum.   It is a safe, sealed, and self-contained procedure.

All the tubes and containers used for patients' specimens are used only once and then discarded.
Safety is extremely important to us. We follow strict safety guidelines and take every precaution to protect your safety.
 

We follow strict rules for waste disposal. These rules are set for both environmental and safety reasons.  All our "contaminated waste" is packaged and transported in a way that meets or exceeds government regulations.

Dynacare offers two distinct eResults service offerings:

1. Batch service: Through this solution, we make the electronic results available to you via the web for loading into your practice’s Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution.  You must have an EMR solution that meets our conformance standards to use this service. 
2. Online transaction service:  Through this solution, you can view and print results from our system via a web browser.  This provides the benefits of online access to results to healthcare providers who do not have an EMR system.

If you have an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution installed at your practice that can accept electronic data, then you should request the batch service.  If you are unsure that your EMR has this capability, you should contact your EMR support vendor.

If you do not have an EMR solution or your EMR solution does not support electronic downloads, then you should request our transactional service.
 

The following are the minimum system requirements for eResults:

• A standard personal computer with a Windows operating system.
• Browser should be Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7.0 or higher.

You will also need to install Adobe’s Acrobat Reader in order to preview or print result reports. This application is available free and can be downloaded from the Adobe website at www.adobe.com.
 

One of the key advantages of eResults is that your patients’ laboratory results are available in real time. This means that as soon as a laboratory result is available in our system, whether you have the batch or the transaction service, it also is available to you.
 

The answer to both questions is yes.  To ensure that patient results are transmitted securely, Gamma-Dynacare is using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security for transmission of data over the web.   Data is encrypted before leaving Gamma-Dynacare’s computers and cannot be read until it reaches your office and is decrypted using an encryption key.  We also use a firewall to control the flow of information between internal and external computers and protect our network from unauthorized access.
 

Relevant provincial privacy legislation governs the ability of a health information custodian to collect, use, disclose and/or share results with other health information custodians.  Clients are advised to be mindful of the legal, ethical and professional rules and codes of conduct prior to establishing any Electronic Medical Record solution. Where permissible, eResults allows physicians to decide which individuals in your office are authorized to receive results reports. For the online transaction service, shared access is controlled via user ID/password while for the batch service, shared access is managed through your Electronic Medical Record solution.
 

Signing up for eResults is easy.  Just click on the Sign Up for eResults link on the eResults page of this web site.  Complete the form, click “Submit”, and a Dynacare representative will contact you.  If you would prefer to speak with someone first, please complete the contact us form and your Dynacare Sales representative will call you.
 

On the Dynacare eResults log in screen, click on the “Forgot Your Password?” question.  You will be prompted to answer the secret question that you created when you signed up for the service.  Upon entering the correct answer, you will receive a new password via email.
 

Batch service clients:  Please verify that you downloaded the batch properly.  Verify that your Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software has imported the data properly.  Check your EMR system’s “unmatched folder”.  If the above does not resolve the issue, please contact your local Dynacare Customer Care department.

Transaction service clients:  Please contact your local Customer Care department. 
 

To add another physician to your account, please complete the contact us form and your Dynacare Sales representative will call you.
 

The Harmony Prenatal Test is a non‐invasive test that detects common fetal trisomies in pregnancies of 10 weeks or more, based on directed analysis of DNA in maternal blood.

The Harmony Test detects: trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome). It does not detect open neural tube defects.

Yes, the Harmony Test offers the option of testing for Y or X,Y aneuploidies.

                  Detection Rate   False Positive Rate
Trisomy 21  >99%                <0.1%
Trisomy 18  >98%                <0.1%
Trisomy 13    80%                 <0.1%

Yes. The test is not for use in pregnancies with more than 2 fetuses and is not recommended in cases with a vanishing twin. Y and X,Y analyses are not available for twins.

Starting at 10 weeks. There is no time limitation after that.

Whole blood, always maintained at ambient temperature. You must use the provided kit to collect the sample.

No. This test is not a diagnostic test. However, the test does provide a highly accurate result which may be helpful before proceeding with an amniocentesis.

Current screening methods use biochemical markers combined with ultrasound measurements to calculate a risk rate, with detection rates of 80-95% and a false positive rate of approximately 2-5% for trisomy 21. The Harmony Prenatal Test is a genetic test that detects fetal cell-free DNA in maternal blood to provide a risk result, with a detection rate of over 99% and a false positive rate of less than 0.1% for trisomy 21.

The Harmony test provides a risk result for each trisomy (low risk or high risk).

No, there is no fasting or other restrictions.

Your results are available within 10 business days.

No. Results are only sent to the prescribing physician.

The Harmony test is covered by OHIP for high risk pregnancies, but not by any other provincial government program. Therefore, the patient must pay for this test. If the patient cannot pay for the test, please ask them to contact their physician to discuss alternative prenatal testing options.

It is possible. For this reason, the donor is to refrain from consumption of food or beverages for10 minutes prior to specimen collection.

The buffer solution is used to inhibit bacterial growth, stabilize the sample and extract the drugs from the collection device.

The collection device we use has a sample indicator which confirms that an adequate volume of sample for testing has been collected.

Oral fluid testing is best used when you want to know about recent drug use i.e., post-accident testing, reasonable suspicion, etc.

Drug and drug metabolite(s) are incorporated into the hair matrix from the bloodstream following drug use. Hair drug testing detects drugs that are embedded in the hair.

A hair drug test with initial screen and confirmation requires 100 mg of hair.
 

Hair growth rates vary; typically, head hair grows at an average of 1.3 cm per month. 
Therefore, a 3.9 cm hair sample detects drug use up to 90 days prior to testing.
 

Drug detection times vary depending on the dose, sensitivity of the testing method, preparation and route of administration, duration of use (acute or chronic), the matrix analyzed, the molecule or metabolite tested for, the pH and concentration of the matrix (urine, oral fluid), and variations in metabolic and renal clearance.  In general, the detection time is longest in hair, followed by urine and then oral fluid.  Drugs in hair may be detectable for several months, whereas drugs in urine are generally detectable for one to seven days and in oral fluid from five to 48 hours.
 

Drug (and/or metabolite) can be detected approximately seven to 10 days from the time of drug use. This is the time in which the affected hair grows from the follicle to emerge above the scalp.

Hair may be collected from several head locations and combined to obtain the required amount of hair.  If no head hair is collectable, a sample of body hair can be collected.

No, a hair sample must be collected using proper chain-of-custody protocol and collection techniques. The test subject must verify the authenticity of the sample at the time of collection.
 

Urine cut-off levels are expressed in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) or as a weight of drug per unit volume of urine. Hair cut-off levels are expressed in picograms per milligram (pg/mg) or as a weight of drug per unit weight of hair.

While washing the hair sample may remove some of the contamination, ultimately external exposure can be differentiated from actual use because of the presence of the drug metabolite, which is not present when environmental contamination is the source of the drug.

Requests for support are accepted throughout the year, and are reviewed three times a year in March, July and November.
 

The request turnaround time depends on the size and complexity of the request, as well as when it is submitted. A Dynacare representative may follow up with you if more information is required.
 

Requests are considered on a per application basis; however, donation requests higher than $5,000 are not normally considered under this program.
 

Only charities that are registered as a Canadian Charities, and have a Charitable registration number (as provided by the Canada Revenue Agency), are qualified to receive funding.

 

No. All applications must be filled out using our donation request form, and emailed to DonationRequest@gamma-dynacare.com
 

If you have additional questions about the donation request form, or the Community Giving program, please contact us .