Alberta government spends $12 million on support for primary care providers

The Alberta government has allocated $12 million out of $57 million in assistance to primary care physicians to the Alberta Medical Association (AMA). “This funding will help family practitioners manage their growing number of patients and is another way we’re taking action to stabilize and strengthen primary healthcare,” said Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange in a Thursday press release. “We continue to collaborate with the AMA at various working tables to address challenges facing the system and to do what is necessary to make primary healthcare the foundation of the entire healthcare system.”While this funding will be around, the Alberta government confirmed it is in addition to the $200 million over two years through the new Canada-Alberta Health Funding Agreement to stabilize primary care and improve access to family physicians, which will be available in April.When it comes to payments in the program, it said it will vary depending on the number in a physician’s panels. Physicians who have a patient panel of more than 500 patients are eligible for a quarterly payment between $1,000 and $2,500. Each provider has the potential to receive up to $10,000 annually. AMA President Dr. Paul Parks called this and the federal funding “a down payment to help stabilize physician practices.”“Immediate stabilization is just the first phase, requiring additional support of practices until they can transition to a new model for funding comprehensive, lifelong care for our patients,” said Parks.“We look forward to more details around the timing of the rest of the budget.”The Alberta government admitted growing and managing a panel of patients in primary care generates costs not faced by all practice environments. To the recipients who receive the money, it said they are expected to use it on funding staff, technology and other practice resources to reduce the time, cost and effort spent on administrative tasks, enabling them to spend more time with their patients. Nurse practitioners will be eligible to receive this funding once the new funding model for them is finalized in the coming weeks. The Alberta government said in October it will be allocating $57 million over three years for administrative support to family doctors and nurse practitioners as one of its recommendations for improving primary care.READ MORE: UPDATED: Alberta government spending millions of dollars to improve access to primary care“Today marks an important step in the work I am undertaking to enhance primary care as the foundation of our healthcare system,” said LaGrange. “The Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS) reports clearly identify the challenges our system is facing and their release signals this government’s commitment to take immediate and ongoing action to support and stabilize primary healthcare in our province.”

Alberta government spends $12 million on support for primary care providers

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