Resource for Out of Province (OOP) Funding for British Columbia (BC) Clients

British Columbia (BC) Hospital clients seeking laboratory testing services from In-Common Laboratories (ICL) must apply for and obtain an Out Of Province (OOP) funding letter if they would like these laboratory testing services to be funded publicly. This is a requirement of the BC Agency For Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (BCAPLM).

Criteria for these letters are set by BCAPLM. If these criteria are not met, BC Hospital clients will be responsible for paying in full for any laboratory testing services requested through ICL.

In order to avoid this situation, ICL has put together guidelines for our BC clients to reference. These are outlined below.

OOP letter requirements

OOP approval letters are only valid for three months.

OOP letters are only valid for use once per specimen, unless otherwise stated on your OOP funding letter. For additional testing, clients must obtain a new OOP letter.

Please note that timed test orders must be submitted with an individual approval letter.

Please ensure your OOP letter is completed in full, and includes the following information:

  • Patient name: must match on the issued requisition
  • Valid BC Personal Health Identification (PHN)
  • Issue Date and Application Number
  • Approved test name: must match the test name indicated on the issued requisition
  • Approved testing laboratory: must indicate “In-Common Laboratories”
  • In-Common Laboratories’ address must be included on the letter
  • Approved test fee – Please contact ICL prior to submitting an OOP funding application, as pricing for testing completed through ICL must be approved by our teams

For full information required by BCAPLM, please visit their website

Specimen collection requirements

  • The specimen samples must be collected during the period the OOP letter is valid (i.e. within the three months of the OOP funding letter being issued).
  • Please ensure that the patient brings the OOP letter and test requisition to the specimen collection site at the time of collection
  • Any OOP letter submitted to ICL must be valid at the time the requested testing is performed

Shipping requirements

  • The valid OOP letter and the completed requisition must be sent to ICL with the specimen, within the same box that the specimen is packaged in

Test requisition requirements

Please ensure that the test requisition is completed in full.

The completed requisition must indicate the billing type in order for ICL to process test orders. Failure to indicate this information will result in testing delays.

If you have any questions regarding ICL’s requirements for BC clients utilizing an OOP funding letter, please contact specialtyservices@iclabs.ca. We are here to help!

For any inquiries regarding the BC OOP/OOC application process, please contact the BC Agency For Pathology and Laboratory Medicine directly: ooc@phsa.ca or 604-714-2850.

Full BCAPLM requirements for OOP letters can be found on the BCAPLM website