To increase access to family doctors throughout the province, the Alberta government is putting a new primary care physician compensation model into place.
According to the province, this new model will make Alberta’s family doctors the strongest-paid and most patient-focused in the country.
“Albertans must be able to access a primary care provider. We’ve been working hard with our partners at the Alberta Medical Association to develop a compensation model that will not only support Alberta’s doctors but also improve Albertans’ access to physicians. Ultimately, our deal will make Alberta an even more attractive place to practise family medicine,” stated Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta.
The goal of the new approach is to incentivize doctors to treat more patients and pursue full-time practice. According to the province, incentives include increases for:
- Maintaining high panel numbers (minimum of 500 patients), which will incentivize panel growth and improve access to primary care for patients.
- Providing after-hours care to relieve pressure on emergency departments and urgent care centres.
- Improving technology to encourage using tools that help streamline work and enhance patient care.
- Enhancing team-based care, which will encourage developing integrated teams that may include family physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, dietitians and pharmacists to provide patients with the best care possible.
- Adding efficiencies in clinical operations to simplify processes for both patients and health care providers.
“We have worked with the Alberta Medical Association to address the challenges that primary care physicians are facing. This model will provide the support physicians need and improve patient access to the care they need,” shared Adriana LaGrange, Minister of Health."
Being a market-based and evidence-based paradigm, it acknowledges and compensates doctors for their vital work, which includes the quantity and complexity of patients they see as well as the time they spend giving direct and indirect treatment.
"Additionally, family physicians who are not compensated through the traditional fee-for-service model will now receive higher pay rates under their payment model, known as the alternative relationship plan. This includes those who provide inpatient care in hospitals and rural generalists. Alberta’s government is increasing this to ensure hospital-based family physicians and rural generalists also receive fair, competitive pay that reflects the importance of these roles," stated the province.
If at least 500 physicians sign up, the primary care physician compensation model will go into full effect in the spring of 2025. Enrollment will start in January.
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