Alberta Regulation 193/2026, the Preventative Health Testing Services Regulation, establishes the rules governing preventative health testing services obtained through self-referral. The regulation sets eligibility requirements, professional obligations, informed-consent rules, information-sharing requirements and procedures for communicating diagnostic results.

The regulation permits individuals to self-refer for eligible preventative health testing services, but self-referral is subject to safeguards. An individual must generally be at least 18 years old. Individuals under 18 may qualify where their guardian, as determined under Alberta family legislation, has provided consent. In all cases, a regulated member must first assess the individual and determine that providing the service is safe and clinically appropriate. The assessment must consider the individual’s health history, relevant risk factors, contraindications and whether the individual understands the service, including its limitations, side effects and risks. Self-referral is also prohibited where it would conflict with existing conditions, restrictions or limitations governing the service.

Regulated members must comply with applicable standards of practice and codes of ethics established by their professional colleges. They cannot provide a preventative health testing service where they determine that it would be duplicative or clinically inappropriate. Before providing the service, they must assess eligibility and explain the nature and purpose of the test, including whether it addresses the individual’s reason for seeking the service. They must also disclose foreseeable limitations, side effects and risks. Importantly, individuals must be told that preventative health testing services are not insured health services under Alberta’s public health insurance framework, meaning they are responsible for the costs and that reimbursement by the Government of Alberta is not guaranteed.

Privacy and information-sharing requirements are also central to the regulation. A regulated member may provide a preventative health testing service only after receiving written consent authorizing disclosure of specified information. The consent must identify information such as the individual’s name, date of birth, contact information, personal health number, type of testing, diagnostic results, any clinical finding of cancer, date of service, insurer and payment records. It must also state the purpose and recipients of disclosure, acknowledge the reasons for collecting the information and the risks and benefits of consenting, specify the consent period and explain that consent can be revoked at any time.

The regulation establishes specific obligations for communicating diagnostic results. For computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging and X-ray services, results must be communicated to the individual in person at the testing facility within two hours of the service. Other testing results must be communicated according to applicable professional standards. Where results indicate that follow-up or additional clinical assessment is necessary, the regulated member or authorized person must provide information about follow-up care and facilitate consultations or referrals to support continuity of care.

Alberta (193/2026) August 18, 2026
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