The rocky doctor situation in Alberta could be about to get worse. Why’s that? Our neighbours to the west just made a big change.
On Monday, BC announced that it would bring in a new payment model for its family doctors. In BC, doctors are paid using a fee-for-service model. In this model, docs are typically paid $30 per patient. Whether a patient has a hang nail or heart disease, the fee is around $30.
But doctors paid using this model don’t just get to pocket this money.
Just to make enough to keep the lights on, doctors have to work through a high number of patients and do a lot of their own paperwork. They take on side gigs in other clinics.
A lot of doctors are burnt out and leaving the profession. Sound familiar? But it looks like BC might actually care about its doctors.
“Over the last months, the provincial government has listened to the voices of physicians who passionately care about our patients. The new agreement…recognizes the value of the work doctors do every day,” said Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh, President of Doctors of BC.
A new three-year agreement will introduce a new payment model that considers where a doctor’s time and money are being spent. Their pay will be more like a salary and less like a commission.
In total, a full-time family doctor will be taking home an extra $135,000 a year, which they can sign onto on February 1, 2023.
But what about Alberta?
Well, let’s just say there is a reason doctors are looking longingly at BC.
While BC is taking steps forward to properly pay its doctors, Alberta appears to be taking ten steps backward. At least recently.
With the government aiming a wrecking ball at Alberta Health Services (AHS), doctors in the province are having a hard time finding a reason to stay.
But this is nothing new.
Three years ago, the UCP tore up the doctors’ master agreement. This agreement directly impacts how doctors in the province get paid.
But the government of Alberta has since struck a deal and signed a new agreement with its doctors. This new four-year agreement makes doctors in Alberta the highest-paid in the country.
BC’s new deal will put the province on an even playing field with Alberta in terms of pay for doctors. Doctors in Alberta are now faced with a hard choice. They can either stay in Alberta or leave the province to work somewhere like BC.
While Alberta may now pay its doctors top dollar, this doesn’t change the past or the fact that the province’s health care system is incredibly unstable right now.
The UCP plans on showing AHS the door and completely rebuilding Alberta’s health care system.
Not to mention, the government also wants to drop mask and vaccine mandates in the province for COVID-19.
This means unvaccinated doctors can come to work without a mask. This puts other doctors and patients at greater risk.
Alberta’s healthcare system is a bit of a ticking time bomb. If you were a doctor in Alberta, would you move to BC?
