HTA Details
Ferritin Testing
- Publication date
-
2012-December-01
- Status
- Final
- Topic Area
- Diabetes and Other Endocrinal, Nutritional and Metabolic
- Recommendation
-
Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee Recommendations
- The Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee recommends removing ferritin from the Ontario laboratory requisition form.
- The Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee recommends adding ferritin to the antenatal form 1 to ensure appropriate screening of asymptomatic pregnant women in accordance to guidelines.
- The Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee recommends restricting ferritin testing to individuals with the following conditions:
- suspected iron overload
- unexplained iron deficient anemia
- asymptomatic pregnant females
- suspected chronic blood loss
- Ministry Response
-
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has accepted this recommendation.
-
To read the full OHTAC Recommendation Report for this topic, contact our Health Innovation team using the contact form to request a digital copy.
Iron levels in the blood that are too low (iron deficiency anemia) or too high (iron overload) can be a sign of a serious health problem. Ferritin testing is the most common way to measure iron levels in the blood. In 2010/11, about 3.5 million ferritin tests were done in Ontario.
Ontario Health reviewed the evidence to find out who would benefit most from ferritin testing for iron deficiency or iron overload.
Supporting Documents
Last Updated: February 24, 2026
