The pilot list of no-cost laboratory services available to patients at community laboratories will continue in 2026-27

To: Ordering Clinicians (Medical Practitioners, Registered Nurses in the Extended Class, as applicable pursuant to Ontario Regulation 45/22 under the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act)
Category: Physician Services, Primary Health Care Services, Registered Nurse in the Extended Class
Written by: Laboratories and Diagnostics Branch, Health Programs and Delivery Division
Date issued: May 19, 2026
Bulletin Number: 260503

Overview

The Community Access Pilot for Laboratory Services will be extended through March 31, 2027 with changes to the tests funded under the Pilot. Ten (10) of the laboratory tests that were previously publicly funded under the Pilot have been transitioned into the Schedule of Benefits for Laboratory Services (SOB-LS) as OHIP-insured laboratory services effective April 1, 2026. Please refer to INFOBulletin #260310 for more information. The updated SOB-LS is effective April 1, 2026, and is available on Ontario.ca. For the collections and testing services remaining in the Pilot, there are no changes to the current ordering practices for ordering clinicians.

Any ordering clinician in Ontario, as defined for specimen collection and laboratory testing in Ontario Regulation 45/22 under the Laboratory and Specimen Collection Centre Licensing Act, can request services included in the Pilot by using the existing ordering practices that are currently in-place.

Services included in the Community Access Pilot are:

  • Category 1 Services: Patients can have their specimens collected at a community laboratory for any genetic tests performed in a laboratory listed in Table 1 below.
  • Category 2 Services: Patients can have the tests listed in Table 2 (please see below) performed by a community laboratory.

Participation in the Community Access Pilot for Laboratory Services is voluntary. The ministry encourages providing this testing option where appropriate to help connect people with care faster and closer to home.

Any specimen collections requiring specialized or complex ordering and/or handling requirements should continue to be collected in the appropriate setting such as a hospital.

Additional details about participating in the Community Access Pilot for Laboratory Services can be found below.

Category 1 Services

There is no change for clinicians or patients.

Clinicians can continue their current ordering practice when completing a requisition form for genetic testing.

Patients needing any genetic testing that will be performed by a laboratory listed in Table 1 will continue to have the option of taking their requisition form to a community laboratory (or the Specimen Collection Centre it owns or operates).

Please note, patients should be referred to have their specimens collected at a community laboratory only if it is a routine collection with no special collection methodologies.

Table 1: Molecular Genetics & Cytogenetics Laboratories

#

Hospital/Program Name

1

LONDON HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE

2

HAMILTON HEALTH SCIENCES CORP

3

TRILLIUM HEALTH PARTNERS

4

UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK

5

THE HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN

6

SINAI HEALTH SYSTEM

7

SUNNYBROOK HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE

8

UNITY HEALTH TORONTO

9

NORTH YORK GENERAL HOSPITAL

10

LAKERIDGE HEALTH

11

KINGSTON HEALTH SCIENCES CENTRE

12

THE OTTAWA HOSPITAL

13

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF EASTERN ONTARIO

14

HEALTH SCIENCES NORTH

15

NEWBORN SCREENING ONTARIO (NSO) MOLECULAR LABORATORY

16

THE NATIONAL INHERITED BLEEDING DISORDER GENOTYPING LABORATORY

17

WILLIAM OSLER HEALTH SYSTEM-BRAMPTON CIVIC HOSPITAL

18

LAKERIDGE HEALTH OSHAWA

19

ST. JOSEPH’S HEALTHCARE


Category 2 Services

There is no change for clinicians or patients.

Clinicians can continue their current practices when completing the requisition for tests listed in Table 2.

Patients will be able to continue to have these tests performed by a community laboratory at no-cost.

The ordering clinician should only refer patients to have their specimens collected at a community laboratory according to the criteria in Table 2.

Table 2: List of Services
Name of TestCollection and/or TestingClinical Indications for Ordering
Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies (ANCA): PR3 and MPOCollections and Testing
  • Canadian Vasculitis Network Guidelines; as per disease activity.
  • Ordering Clinicians are restricted to clinicians practising Pediatrics and all its subspecialties, Internal Medicine and all its subspecialties (including Rheumatologists), Dermatology, Neurology, Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology.
Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Antibodies (ACPA)Collections and Testing
  • If negative, do not repeat within 1 year.
  • If positive, do not repeat.
  • Ordering Clinicians are restricted to clinicians practising Pediatrics and all its subspecialties, Internal Medicine and all its subspecialties (including Rheumatologists), and Dermatology.

Additional Information

For further information about the Community Access Pilot for Laboratory Services, please email CommunityLabs@ontario.ca or call 416-326-2158.

Keywords/Tags

Community Access Pilot; Community Laboratories; Laboratory Services; Patient Access

Contact Information

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