Elise Stolte: Mystery surrounding Edmonton's medical superlab just gets deeper
Because that’s what they’re announcing Monday.
One of these startups is creating a less intrusive urine test for colon cancer. Another is using artificial intelligence to improve prostate cancer screening, reducing the need for a biopsy. Between the five of them, the independent tech startups now have 5,000 square feet in the centre of a facility the public has been told is so crowded, it really can’t continue.
And those are not the only new colleagues the downtown lab is welcoming, said Jason Pincock, chief executive for Dynalife, a private company that holds a public contract for lab services. The Alberta Health Services (AHS) team for immunohistochemistry is moving here from the University of Alberta lab in June, putting public sector employees under a private roof.
Dynalife’s announcement Monday obviously has political undertones.
The Edmonton-based company is in a fight for its life, buoyed by the United Conservative promise to tear up the NDP’s $50-million buyout deal. It’s part of the move to scuttle Edmonton’s proposed Superlab, which had been under construction since March when newly-elected Premier Jason Kenney’s government hit pause.
As an Edmonton resident, it’s hard to know whether to cheer or grieve that decision. Edmonton needs investment in its medical labs — 76 per cent of equipment at the public AHS-run labs is past its useful life. The superlab included that equipment cost.
Because of that, pulling the plug on the superlab will not save $590 million, as Kenney boasted during the election.
But at the same time, I don’t think recent narratives about Dynalife have been accurate.
Late last month, I asked former health minister Sarah Hoffman about the situation. She again pointed to Dynalife as the “biggest pressure point,” because it works out of leased space with old equipment.
But the NDP fail to mention Dynalife is leasing space from AIMCo, the investment arm of the provincial government. What can be more secure than that? If the Dynalife contract is serving the public interest, a premier can make that lease continue.
Plus, Dynalife’s equipment is not old, especially not when compared to the government’s own equipment. That’s where the real issue lies. According to the 2017 Health Quality Council report, Dynalife was investing between 25 and 29 cents per test annually in capital upgrades since 2012/13.
For AHS, that number was never higher than 9 cents. That’s why three quarters of the public equipment is ready to age out while, at the private site, Dynalife has made itself a demonstration site for next-generation technologies.
I toured the Dynalife facility Friday morning, watched robotic arms and scanners check the chemical content of blood. I saw where one staff member handles all the diabetes tests for northern Alberta, where all provincial pap smears go for analysis. It certainly felt calm, structured and well ordered.
Pincock says they still have space to expand in the current building, a two-storey structure that fills almost a half-block between the University of Alberta’s Enterprise Square and the Don Wheaton Family YMCA. Plus, he says, they could easily find more space in nearby office towers, if equipped with proper ventilation. Most of their equipment is no larger than a deep freeze.
Dynalife Medical Labs CEO Jason Pincock poses for a photo in front of an image of red blood cells at their downtown headquarters Friday May 24, 2019.
I also asked AHS for a tour of its medical labs. It turned me down. For more than a week I’ve been asking Alberta Health how much of the $590 million Superlab budget was for medical equipment upgrades versus building construction. No response.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro says he’s still seeking legal opinions to determine exactly how much cancelling the construction contract for the Superlab would cost in penalties. The project is on ice now.
We’re doing “due diligence,” he says, “taking a fresh look at this, trying to get all the information.” He would not give a timeline for that review.
Going back to the 2017 Alberta Health Quality Council report, it did not specifically call for buying out Dynalife. That was an NDP decision. The quality council simply said any private contract should be undertaken in the public interest. It recommended the current contract with Dynalife (a geographic approach, clear customer service targets and rewards for innovation) should be taken as a model for any new independent oversight board. Dynalife does not get paid per test.
Andrew Neuner, chief executive of the quality council, said its research stressed the importance of consolidation so the same type of test can be done in batches, increasing efficiency and quality control.
The current approach is like a school system, he says, “where they’ve got English on one side of town and math on the other.”
It’s frustrating because there are still too many unanswered questions to know who’s right and who’s wrong. Dynalife appears to be professional and efficient, but the government data suggest the public labs have been starved for investment for years. It’s time the government stop treating this issue like a political frisbee.
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