Funding eligibility updates for NIPT testing in BC

Earlier this month, the BC Prenatal Genetic Screening Program announced a change to their Down syndrome positive screen cut-off of Sequential Integrated Prenatal Screening (SIPS) and QUAD screens. This change will improve the detection rate of Down syndrome and allow more women to qualify for provincially funded Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT).

Please note that Panorama NIPT offered by LifeLabs is NOT available as a provincially funded option in BC and is ONLY an option for private pay in BC.

How will this affect patients?

The ordering of provincially-funded screening tests will remain the same for health care providers; only the management of patients with a positive screen result will change.

If NIPT results are positive (high risk), the patient will then be referred to medical genetics for counseling and consideration of invasive diagnostic testing (e.g. amniocentesis).

Please note: the ordering healthcare provider should be familiar with this new criteria and LifeLabs will not be monitoring for eligibility criteria for tests ordered as Panorama NIPT is only available for private pay in BC.

For more information about the changes to the BC Prenatal Genetic Screening Program, please visit the Prenatal Genetic Screening Program website.