Laboratory

location

How to Find the Laboratory

From the main doors, go past the lobby, through the doorway and turn right into the hallway. The entrance for the patient phlebotomy room is the 8th door down on the left, it has a frosted window. There is a small sign hanging from the ceiling above the door that says Laboratory.

 

what to expect

Booking an Appointment

The Atikokan Medical Clinic (AMC) or Atikokan Family Health Team (AFHT) will fax your requisition for bloodwork to the lab and we will contact you to book an appointment. Generally, bloodwork does not have to be done immediately and can wait until our next available appointment time.  We will work with the Diagnostic Imaging department to schedule your appointments so that they coincide with each other, however, this is not always possible so we appreciate your understanding.  If we are unable to get in touch with you after the second attempt, we will refer your requisition back to the AMC or AFHT so that they may get in touch with you.

For out of town, out of province, and specialist requisitions, please call extension 359 to book your appointment.  If no one answers the phone – do not panic, leave a message and someone will get back to within 24 hours.  Please do not call multiple times a day or leave multiple messages, this causes a back log of messages and delays the staff in making further appointments.

The lab will continue to use the appointment based system once COVID restrictions have been lifted, it has been working well.

During the Visit 

1. Please expect to wait in the lobby, a lab staff member will come to collect you when it is time for your appointment, unfortunately we can not prepare for all circumstances so it is possible that your appointment may be delayed. We will do our very best to keep on schedule however, if we do not collect you at your appointment time, please wait patiently and a lab staff member will collect you as soon as they are able.

2. Upon arriving in the phlebotomy room, the lab staff may ask you to take off your coat or sweater so that your arms are exposed and then they will ask you to take a seat.

3. You will be asked for your health card and you will be asked your name and date of birth. We will verify your verbal information with the requisition and the health card.

4. We will prepare you and ourselves for the blood collection by getting our tubes ready and necessary items to have at hand, applying a tourniquet tightly to your arm and feeling for an appropriate site with a good vein to perform the blood collection.

5. We will cleanse our hands and your arm with alcohol based cleaners.

6. Once the alcohol has dried we will perform the needle-stick collection.

7. Once the needle is removed we will apply gauze and hold for approximately 30 seconds then check to make sure you have stopped bleeding and apply paper tape.

8. If necessary we will ask you to remain seated for a few minutes. Once our tubes are labelled correctly you are able to leave.

Lab Results

The lab staff are not able to give you results.  Your physician will be able to discuss your results with you. There are special circumstances where the patient is able to receive paper results from the lab but they must have prior permission and a form filled out from the ordering physician and it must be presented to the lab. 

COVID testing results are available on the government website if you have a valid health card.

Questions or concerns

Contact Information

Please call ext. 359 for booking and cancelling appointments and for all appointment and requisition related questions.

To contact an MLT please call ext. 309

To contact the Lab Manager please call ext. 354