INITIATIVES

Health Initiatives in Alberta Health and Wellness

Alberta's health care system is constantly evolving.

The Government of Alberta continues to look for new and better ways to ensure our health care system meets the needs of all Albertans. Steps to sustain and improve health and health care include the following:

Key health initiatives

The new health action plan builds on major initiatives undertaken by Alberta Health and Wellness. These initiatives include:

Expanded cancer screening programs

Programs to screen for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer will be implemented province-wide in 2008. The cervical cancer screening program, which began in the Calgary area in fall 2003 and the Palliser Health Region in spring 2004, will be expanded province-wide this spring.

A provincial breast cancer screening program that targets women 50 to 69 years of age will also be implemented this year. An annual colorectal cancer screening for men and women age 50 to 74 will be introduced this year.

Electronic Health Record / Alberta Netcare

Alberta is leading Canada in the successful implementation of a single, province-wide Electronic Health Record, also known as Alberta Netcare. Alberta Netcare is an important tool for physicians, pharmacists and other health service providers in Alberta.

It improves patient care by providing up-to-date available information immediately at the point of care, reduces unnecessary duplication of tests and makes basic patient information available to health service providers and supports better care decisions and improves patient safety. More than 24,000 physicians, pharmacists and other health service providers are registered users of Alberta Netcare.

Telehealth

In November 2007, the Alberta government provided more than $2.4 million to the Telehealth Clinical Grant Program to give Albertans living in rural and remote areas better access to health care services without having to travel great distances. Telehealth uses videoconferencing technology to connect Albertans with the best possible health care, no matter where they live. It connects patients and health care providers securely and confidentially by carrying pictures, voices and information so that effective decisions about health care can be made.

This technology is interactive and allows participants to talk with health professionals who are located in another community and may reduce the need to travel for consultation, treatment or follow-up.

  • Alberta’s telehealth network is one of the largest in Canada with more than 500 telehealth sites across the province.

Health Workforce Action Plan

Alberta’s Health Workforce Action Plan, announced in September 2007, is a collaborative effort between Health and Wellness, Employment and Immigration, and Advanced Education and Technology. The nine-year plan promotes systemic change in Alberta's health system and supports the health sector by addressing immediate and future health workforce needs through initiatives such as programs to assess more internationally educated registered nurses, adding more health care professionals in rural Alberta, increasing post-secondary spaces for students in health programs, enhancing professional development bursaries, and increased recruitment efforts to raise the number of registered nurses working in Alberta.

Rural Physician Action Plan

The Alberta Rural Physician Action Plan, established in 1991, is an initiative funded by Alberta Health and Wellness that provides a provincially-focused comprehensive, integrated and sustained program for the education, recruitment and retention of Alberta physicians in rural practice. The initiatives under the plan aim at improving the quality of rural health care by offering comprehensive and integrated initiatives for medical students, residents, practising physicians and regional health authorities.

Create a Movement

Create A Movement was launched in September 2007 to encourage young people and their parents to eat healthy and be more active to reduce their risk of obesity and chronic disease. This public awareness campaign urges Albertans to put their knowledge into action – to eat smart and move more and enjoy the benefits of better health. The campaign includes television, radio, public transit, print and cinema advertisements and a website directed at young people and parents.

More funding for continuing care

In January 2008, Premier Stelmach announced $300 million in funding for seven new long-term care facilities and 600 new and 200 replacement long-term care beds. This funding responds to the pressing need for more long-term care beds, largely the result of the province's growing population. Adding long-term care beds will also ease pressures on Alberta's hospitals by enabling these individuals to be more appropriately placed in a long-term care facility and as quickly as possible.

Strong and vibrant communities

The Minister of Health and Wellness is mandated to work with the Minister of Justice to promote strong and vibrant communities and reduce crime so Albertans feel safe. As part of this mandate, the Health and Wellness Minister will lead an initiative to increase the number of treatment beds for drug addictions and mental health services.

  • AADAC, a Crown agency of the Alberta government, mandated by the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Act, will lead the expansion of beds and addictions services.

Mental health

Regulations are being developed under the Mental Health Amendment Act to allow for the implementation of Community Treatment Orders. A Community Treatment Order is a tool intended to improve patients' compliance with treatment while residing in the community, thus reducing the need for recurring re-admission to mental health facilities.

Alberta's Immunization Strategy

In February 2007, the Alberta government distributed $8 million over two years to the province's nine health regions, in an effort to increase immunization rates. Alberta has one of the most comprehensive publicly-funded immunization programs in Canada.

Primary Care

Through Primary Care Networks, 1.7 million Albertans have access to primary care services provided by more than 1,480 physicians working with other health care providers such as dietitians, social workers, nurses and pharmacists. Alberta currently has 26 Primary Care Networks, with others coming online within the next year.

Infection Prevention and Control Strategy

After infection prevention and control issues were identified in Vegreville in March 2007, the Alberta government introduced the Alberta Infection Prevention and Control Strategy, and the first provincial infection prevention and control standards. The province is working with the health regions and health profession regulatory bodies on the implementation of the standards, and monitoring for compliance.

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