Public can count on 440 million lab results each year from trusted Medical Laboratory Professionals

HAMILTON, ON, Jan. 29, 2015 /CNW/ - The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science (CSMLS) would like to reassure the public after the recent campaign "A quest to rewrite everything" by Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ).  The FSMQ video discusses a fictitious scenario in which a doctor calls the lab looking for his patient's results and is told the samples were lost. The CSMLS wants the public to know that they can have confidence in their laboratory services.

"We are concerned that the commercial may lead patients to believe that labs are routinely losing specimens and this is simply not the case," says CSMLS President Tania Toffner. "There may be legitimate reasons why a test result is unavailable or delayed but the FMSQ video could lead to a false impression of the lab and the professionals who work there."

Every day in Quebec and across Canada, life-saving diagnoses and treatments are dependent on work done in laboratories. The medical laboratory professionals who work in the lab providing test results to physicians and healthcare practitioners are highly skilled, highly qualified individuals. Canadian laboratories produce over 440 million lab results each year.

"We understand that FSMQ is trying to encourage public debate about changes to the provincial health care system and we support this dialogue," says CSMLS Chief Executive Officer Christine Nielsen. "This discussion will best serve the public when it focuses on systems and opportunities for improvement."

The Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science is the national certifying body for medical laboratory technologists and medical laboratory assistants, and the national professional society for Canada's medical laboratory professionals. Incorporated in 1937 as the Canadian Society of Laboratory Technologists, the society has over 14,500 members in Canada and in countries around the world. 

SOURCE CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE

about CSMLS or interview requests, please contact: Michael Grant,Director of Marketing & Communication, Phone: [phone], www.csmls.org