Alberta's 'dual practice' health care model faces questions over wait times and details

Alberta's government is set to introduce a "dual practice model" this fall, permitting approved physicians to operate within both the public and private healthcare sectors. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange announced the initiative, stating it aims to address lengthy surgical wait times, which she described as a failure of the current system.

The procedures eligible under this new model include hip and knee replacements, orthopedic surgeries, cataract operations, certain ear, nose, and throat procedures, dermatology, plastic surgery, and gynecological surgeries. Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information indicates that only 64 percent of hip and knee replacements meet the six-month target timeframe.

However, the proposed model faces skepticism. University of Calgary researcher Babatope Adebiyii, in a paper published in The Lancet, found that in countries like Ireland, Australia, the U.K., Brazil, and Chile, similar dual-practice systems led to longer wait times for patients in the public system while benefiting those who could afford private care.

“

With every policy it’s always a good idea on paper (but) when it comes to implementation, how do we implement dual policy?

Key details of Alberta's plan are still undisclosed, including the minimum number of hours doctors must dedicate to the public system before engaging in private practice. Francesca Sebastion, CEO of Acumen Health, a private clinic, highlighted the importance of these specifics, particularly regarding OR room access in non-hospital facilities and how surgeons moving between systems will affect patient access.

The Alberta NDP has criticized the plan as a move towards "American-style for-profit health care," arguing that an individual's income will dictate the speed of non-emergency medical care access, thereby creating a "two-tiered" system.

“

How we’re going to be working with the public is the utmost importance. How we are going to be able to rent the OR room that is in non-hospital facilities and those surgeons that are going to be coming from public and private, how will that affect the access to patients?