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Modernizing Alberta's Primary Health Care System (MAPS)

Taking action to strengthen Alberta’s primary health care system.

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Primary health care

Overview

The Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS) initiative was established to strengthen primary health care in Alberta and ensure all Albertans have access to timely, appropriate primary health care services.

The Modernizing Alberta's Primary Health Care System Implementation Plan focuses on 7 key focus areas of action to transform the current primary health care system. Accomplishing these goals will help stabilize and strengthen Alberta’s primary health care system.

The MAPS 2-Year Implementation Plan was informed by recommendations from an Indigenous Panel, International Expert Panel and a Strategic Advisory Panel.

Implementation plan

The MAPS – 2-Year Implementation Plan will serve as the guidepost for action to strengthen primary health care in Alberta over the next 2 years. It outlines a series of actions as part of government’s long-term commitment to modernize the province's primary health care system.

Read the MAPS final reports.

MAPS implementation focuses on 7 key focus areas:

  • Transforming governance, strengthening and aligning accountabilities
  • Evolving patients’ medical homes within an integrated health neighbourhood
  • Enabling the primary health care workforce to improve health outcomes
  • Building capacity in quality, safety and innovation
  • Digitally enabling primary health care
  • Significantly investing in primary health care
  • Addressing Indigenous racism

These focus areas are critical to achieving the MAPS vision. Each area requires specific actions for MAPS to be fully implemented over the next 10 years.

A dedicated Indigenous Primary Health Care Implementation Plan has been developed. It will help Alberta achieve a health system that delivers access to culturally safe, quality care that improves life-expectancy and the health and wellbeing of First Nation, Métis and Inuit Peoples, families and communities.

We will continue to work with our partners, including Indigenous communities, through targeted engagement as this work continues.

Actions underway

These actions address urgent issues and give Albertans more access to family doctors and the health professionals they need.

  • Access to family doctors

    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.

  • Create a task force

    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.

  • Funding support for doctors and NPs

    • 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)

  • Family physician compensation model

    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.

  • Nurse practitioner compensation model

    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.

  • Online mental health services

    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.

  • Indigenous initiatives

    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

Final reports

The MAPS Strategic Advisory Panel final report contains 11 recommendations to refocus the system around primary health care with an emphasis on:

  • access to team-based care
  • integration between primary health care and community care
  • a foundation of a coordinated and accountable primary health care system

The Indigenous Advisory Panel final report contains 22 recommendations under 5 themes:

  • improve health equity for Indigenous Peoples
  • address Indigenous racism in health care
  • build culturally safer primary health care and an Indigenous workforce
  • create system innovation and support community capacity
  • Indigenous ownership, stewardship, design and delivery of health care services
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