For Ethics Week, we are featuring a different TBRHSC department daily to see what sorts of ethics questions they encounter.
What does your department do?
Laboratory Services plays a big role in the ethical treatment of patients and their specimens. Together we are committed to treating all patient specimens in the same manner, with dignity and privacy!
Laboratory accreditation standards require that staff are trained with regards to the relevant legal requirements governing the treatment of human samples, tissue or remains. In addition licensed Medical Laboratory Technologists (MLTs) are regulated health care professionals and must abide by the College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario’s (CMLTO – our governing body) Code of Ethics. Under the Code of Ethics we have an obligation to patients to carry out our duties with competency and integrity, which includes obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality, respecting diversity, promoting a culture of safety, and collaborating with other healthcare professionals.
What kind of ethical issues come up in your area?
Laboratory Services Staff face many ethical dilemmas. Specimens are tests, which leads to diagnosis and treatment decisions. Sometimes a patient will call for their results; however, we cannot provide directly so we gently redirect to the ordering physician. Other times, we have requests to rush specimens, knowing there are higher priority like-requests, but do our best.
We have a Quality Manual which standardizes ethical approaches and decision-making as best as possible; however cases are treated individually as well, i.e., Release of Products of Conception for Compassionate Burial, etc.
Laboratory Services performs 7,300 tests daily. All results must be secure and confidential; therefore strict reports distribution/reporting policies must be followed to prevent breach. Privacy and confidentiality are top priorities. Most importantly, lab staff treat all human samples with the utmost respect doing their best to provide timely accurate, quality results.
