How to access your lab results in British Columbia

There are generally two places to look: Health Gateway and MyCareCompass. Most people are best served by having both.

Health Gateway

Best for: a broader view of your health information from across the BC system.

Health Gateway is the Government of British Columbia's secure patient portal. Rather than connecting to one laboratory, it pulls together information from a number of provincial systems.

You Can Use It to View

  • Lab results

  • Prescription medication history

  • Immunization records

  • Health and hospital visits

  • Some diagnostic imaging reports

  • BC Cancer screening information

Most routine lab results appear about two to three days after testing. Pathology and biopsy results take longer, often a few weeks, so your provider can review them first.

What You Need to Log In

Health Gateway uses your BC Services Card account as your secure digital ID.

You'll need that account, plus either the BC Services Card app on your phone or a BC Token.

Setting up the account takes a bit of time, but you only need to do it once. If you've never set up a BC Services Card account before, you'll verify your identity as part of the process, either by submitting a short video, doing a live video call with a Service BC agent, or going in person to a Service BC office.

A BC Services Card is the fastest way through setup. If you don't have one, two pieces of government-issued ID will work, as long as one of them has a photo.

Accounts are available from age 12.

Access Health Gateway

A Note on Naturopathic Labs and Health Gateway

Lab work ordered by a naturopathic doctor generally doesn't appear in Health Gateway. It does appear in MyCareCompass, as long as you had an account at the time of your draw.

So if you've been seeing an ND and Health Gateway comes back empty, nothing has gone wrong. Check MyCareCompass instead.

Keep reading for information on MyCareCompass.

MyCareCompass

Best for: results from participating laboratories, and managing LifeLabs appointments.

MyCareCompass is run by LifeLabs, and it carries results from several participating BC laboratories, including LifeLabs and Valley Medical Laboratories.

You can use it to:

  • View available lab results

  • Book and manage LifeLabs appointments

Results are usually available within about 48 hours, depending on the test and the laboratory

Setting it up for the first time

Get your lab visit number while you're at the lab.

Before you leave, ask staff for your lab visit number. You need it to connect that first visit to your account. Without it, you may not be able to finish setting up, and you won't see those results.

You only do this once. Once your account is connected, future results appear on their own.

What to have ready

  • Your name and date of birth

  • Your email address and phone number

  • Your BC Personal Health Number

  • Your lab visit number from your recent blood draw

Your details have to match what the laboratory has on file, and the lab visit you register with has to be from within the previous 30 days.

Already have an account?

Sign in with your email address and password. You don't need another lab visit number.

Accounts are available from age 16.

Access Mycarecompass

Health Gateway vs. MyCareCompass

Health Gateway MyCareCompass
Who runs it Government of British Columbia LifeLabs
Lab results Lab results from provincial systems Results from participating laboratories
Naturopathic lab work Generally does not appear Appears
Results from before you signed up Yes, going back years No
Medication history Yes No
Imaging reports Some reports No
Immunizations Yes No
How you log in BC Services Card account Email and password
Minimum age 12 and up 16 and up
First-time step Set up your BC Services Card account Get your lab visit number at your blood draw
Timing Two to three days, longer for pathology About 48 hours, longer for some tests

Both are free. Health Gateway is the only route to your history. MyCareCompass is the faster route to new results, and the one that carries naturopathic lab work. If you can't find a result in one, check the other.

Downloading and Sharing Your Results

Both portals let you save a result as a PDF, which is the easiest way to send us bloodwork we don't already have.

From Health Gateway: sign in, filter to Lab Results, open the report, and download it as a PDF.

From MyCareCompass: sign in, open the Reports section, select the report you want, and download it as a PDF.

Release of Medical Records

A release of medical records is another way for us to get your previous lab results. We request them directly from the clinic that ordered the testing, and that clinic sends the records to us.

A release travels clinic to clinic, so it isn't something you can request yourself, and there's a form to complete first. If that's something you'd like, let us know and we'll get it started.

Please Note

Lab results are meant to be read in context. A single value, including one flagged “high” or “low,” needs to be interpreted alongside your health history, your symptoms, your medications, and the reason the test was ordered in the first place. Results may also appear in a portal before your provider has reviewed them. If something in your results concerns you, please get in touch with your practitioner.

Common Questions

  • Not strictly, but most people benefit from both. Health Gateway is the only route to your history. MyCareCompass is the faster route going forward, and it's where naturopathic lab work appears.

  • Lab work ordered by a naturopathic doctor generally doesn't flow into the provincial record that Health Gateway draws from. Those results appear in MyCareCompass instead, provided you had an account at the time of your draw.

  • Not through the portal. MyCareCompass only shows visits linked after the account exists. For that one result, let us know and we'll request it from the clinic that ordered it.

  • Health Gateway takes about two to three days for most lab work, and a few weeks for pathology results such as biopsies, which are held so your provider can review them first. MyCareCompass posts most results within about 48 hours, though some take longer depending on the test and the laboratory.

  • Usually it means the lab posted them faster than the review process moves. A value flagged outside the reference range is common, and on its own it doesn't tell you much. If something in your results worries you, get in touch rather than sitting with it all weekend.

  • Health Gateway accounts are available from age 12, and MyCareCompass from age 16. A young person sets up their own account.

  • No. A release of medical records goes clinic to clinic, and there's a form to complete first. Let us know which clinic ordered the testing and roughly when, and we'll get the request started.