Starting in December, most of Alberta's non-urgent lab services will be provided by Canadian company DynaLIFE.

The company was selected after a competitive request for proposals process, and the agreement between Alberta Health Services (AHS), DynaLIFE and Alberta Precision Laboratories (APL) was finalized on June 1.

According to Health Minister Jason Copping, the change will improve routine lab work while APL continues providing in-hospital service.

"It's not about doing more with less, it's about doing more with more. We're spending more than ever, but we're also trying to meet higher demands on the system than ever, so we need every single dollar we can find. This change will also let us divide the roles better across the whole system and reduce overlap. DynaLIFE does what they're best at across the whole province, and that's high-volume community testing. APL focuses on the rest of the lab system including providing lab services to hospitals and research and innovation in areas like genetics and molecular pathology."

DynaLIFE will employ existing staff under the same or similar employment terms and upgrade patient services centres in Okotoks, Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Leduc, Strathmore and Cochrane.

The company has been carrying out lab services in Alberta for over 25 years.

The provincial government estimates it will save $18 to $36 million a year with the change.