Modernizing Alberta's Primary Health Care System (MAPS)

• Improving supports for vulnerable Albertans by investing $30 million into 4 community health centres so they can expand their services over the next 2 years.
• Providing rural community organizations and clinics $6 million over 2 years so they can hire more team members to increase capacity and improve access within their clinic.
• Providing municipalities with $6 million over 2 years so they can enhance team-based care and support the operations of an existing primary care clinic within their community.

To learn more, visit Primary health care grants.

Providing additional funding of $200 million over 2 years to improve access to family doctors and help ensure primary health care is available for every Albertan when and where they need it.

Creating a task force with the Alberta Medical Association, to provide recommendations on a new payment model for family doctors, actions to reduce the administrative burden facing primary care providers and additional stabilization measures:

• a new payment model for family doctors that encourages comprehensive primary care – where a patient has a regular family doctor who they develop a long-term relationship with and who works with them to ensure all their health care needs are met
• supports for family doctors to provide comprehensive primary care
• ways to reduce the administrative workload for providers so they can spend more time with their patients
• other short-term stabilization measures

Signing a memorandum of understanding with the Alberta Medical Association to collaborate on actions to better support doctors practicing comprehensive primary health care.

• Allocating $57 million over 3 years to provide family doctors and nurse practitioners with support to help manage costs related to their increasing number of patients. Each provider has the potential to receive up to $10,000 annually.
• Ensuring doctors get paid if patients can’t prove insurance coverage, which will reduce their administrative burden (known as 'good faith' claims)

Working with the Alberta Medical Association to develop and implement a new compensation model for family physicians and rural generalist physicians that will encourage them to provide Albertans comprehensive, life-long care.

Implementing a nurse practitioner compensation model to support nurse practitioners to practice independently in primary care, adding much needed capacity to the primary care system.

Expanding online mental health services, allowing doctors to bill for virtual mental health checks and therapy, and compensating them for extra time spent with patients virtually.

Implementing Indigenous initiatives to address racism and other barriers that Indigenous peoples experience when accessing primary health care, including:

• establishing a $20 million Indigenous Innovation Fund to invest in innovative primary health care services designed and delivered by Indigenous communities
• creating an Indigenous Patient Complaints Investigator
• forming an Elders Roster to guide Indigenous peoples throughout the complaints process
• establishing a community-based Indigenous patient navigator program to support Indigenous peoples throughout their health care journey
• creating an Indigenous Health Division within Alberta Health