Privately paid, direct-to-consumer diagnostic testing: let the buyer beware
Abstract
Alberta’s Ministry of Health recently announced plans to enable residents to privately purchase diagnostic testing services, including laboratory and imaging tests, without a referral from a health care provider. The stated rationale is to achieve “better health outcomes and patient autonomy for
Fields of Study & Subjects
Healthcare cost
quality
practices
Healthcare Regulation
Biomedical Ethics and Regulation
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Canadian Medical Association Journal
- Volume
- 198
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- E181–E182
- Publication date
- 8 February 2026
- Language
- EN