By Jackie Lovely
MLA Camrose
Primary health care is the first stop on the journey to wellness and recovery. Recognizing the critical role primary health care plays in the timely diagnosis and treatment of illness, our United Conservative (UCP) government has embarked on the ambitious journey of Modernizing Alberta’s Primary Health Care System (MAPS) – a comprehensive initiative aimed at fortifying primary health care services across the province.
At the heart of our MAPS initiative lies a collaborative effort that engages Alberta’s primary health care leaders alongside national and global experts. Together, we are working to identify immediate and long-term improvements to bolster primary health care and build on the improvements our government has already made. These efforts are not just about addressing present needs, but also laying down a roadmap for a sustainable and resilient primary health system for generations to come.
One of the key priorities of the MAPS initiative is ensuring that every Albertan has access to a family doctor or a primary care provider they can trust.
To achieve this, our government has created a task force in collaboration with the Alberta Medical Association to devise a new payment model incentivizing comprehensive primary care.
Additionally, we have acted to reduce administrative burdens on health care providers and allocate funds to support family doctors and nurse practitioners. And, we are expanding online mental health services, enabling doctors to conduct virtual mental health checks and therapy sessions, an initiative which will help bridge the rural-urban divide that exists when it comes to accessing mental health services.
Just a few weeks ago, our government announced that we are providing an additional $57 million in funding over three years to provide family doctors and nurse practitioners with support to help manage costs related to their increasing number of patients. This funding is part of our commitment to stabilize, strengthen, and improve Alberta’s primary health care system.
The Camrose constituency has many doctors and nurse practitioners who will benefit from the actions we have taken to improve primary health care. We are also working to ensure there is a billing system in place for eligible providers who don’t already have access to one. This includes many nurse practitioners who are providing critical primary care.
It is imperative we fix the issues facing primary health and ensure every Albertan has access to a family doctor or primary care provider they trust.
Primary health care is the first stop on the journey to wellness and recovery – and our government is investing to ensure the system is working the way it needs to for all Albertans.
- MLA Jackie Lovely can be contacted at her constituency office located at #104, 4870 51 Street, Camrose AB, T4V 1S1, or by telephone at 780-672-0000.