On Thursday, Alberta Health Services (AHS) confirmed to Corus Entertainment it had signed at letter of intent on Aug. 17 for Dynalife Diagnostic Laboratory Services to continue providing lab services for Albertans in the Edmonton region until 2022.
In a statement, AHS CEO Verna Yiu wrote: “The five-year term provides stability and predictability for staff and patients while AHS and Alberta Health transition to a new provincial model for laboratory services in Alberta. This extension will provide consistency through to March 2022.”
AHS referred to the deal as “an agreement in principle.”
According to AHS, it is now negotiating terms with the lab services provider and hopes a deal will be solidified before October.
The agreement comes just months after a Health Quality Council of Alberta report called for more public oversight of lab services in Alberta and urged the government to address what it called the urgent and growing need for more diagnostic lab services in the Edmonton zone and northern Alberta.
READ MORE: Alberta lab services report calls for more public oversight
In October 2015, AHS extended its contract with Dynalife for one year to run through March 2017 in order to ensure continuity of lab services across the province. The contract extension was on the same terms as the previous agreement, which was worth just over $130 million per year.
READ MORE: AHS extends lab services contract with Dynalife
In October 2014, the Progressive Conservative government announced it had entered into negotiations with Australian company Sonic Healthcare to provide lab services in Edmonton and northern Alberta.
READ MORE: Australian company chosen to provide lab services in Edmonton area
Dynalife appealed the decision. It won the appeal after a panel determined AHS breached its duty of procedural fairness in the request-for-proposal process.
-with files from Randy Kilburn, iNews880 and Slav Kornik, Global News
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