Through government's investment, association will also help others set up clinics in the province
Alberta is supporting nurse practitioners’ practice throughout the province by enabling them to open their own clinics, take on patients and offer services based on their scope of practice, training and expertise.
The provincial government is investing $2 million over the next three years through the Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta, which will help to implement a compensation model. The new compensation model will be created to encourage them to operate independently, according to the government.
“Nurse practitioners are highly trained and valued medical professionals. By enabling them to open their own clinics, we are ensuring Albertans can more easily access the care they need,” said Premier Danielle Smith. “This is a significant improvement in our primary health care system that will benefit patients and help improve the overall health and health outcomes of Alberta families.”
Healthcare workers’ primary reasons for quitting are poor wages and unsafe working conditions (70 per cent), according to a previous SEIU Healthcare study.
Details around the compensation model
Alberta’s new compensation model for nurse practitioners will be phased in and is expected to launch in early 2024. By then, nurse practitioners who want to go into independent practice will be asked to submit expressions of interest. The model is expected to include payment for a specified number of clinical hours and other commitments, such as caring for a certain number of patients.
Nurse practitioners who opt into the compensation model will also qualify for caseload supports once their patient caseloads are established, as announced on Oct. 18. Back then, Alberta announced it is allocating $57 million over three years to provide family doctors and nurse practitioners with support to help manage their increasing number of patients. Each provider has the potential to receive up to $10,000 annually.
Typically, nurse practitioners can provide about 80% of the medical services a family physician provides, and this will be reflected in the compensation model when it’s finalized, according to the government.
As it is, too many Albertans cannot find a regular family doctor or have trouble getting an appointment with the one they have, the provincial government noted.
Health care workers are raising concerns about increased workloads even though the COVID-19 pandemic has been over since May, according to a previous report. To address current and future labour shortages, Alberta, in January, modified the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) to give more opportunities for international, high-demand workers with close relatives in Alberta to fill job vacancies in the province.
The Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta will also recruit other nurse practitioners to participate and provide supports as they work to set up their own clinics using the Alberta government funding.
“The Nurse Practitioner Association of Alberta is thrilled for the opportunity to support Albertans across the province in accessing a care provider in all health care environments, not just primary care,” said Susan Prendergast, president of the association.
“With this announcement and this grant, the association will be perfectly positioned to ensure that our members will be fully prepared to meet the needs of Albertans in both urban and rural communities. Until now, accessing a nurse practitioner has been challenging. This announcement ends those challenges. The NPAA looks forward to working with Alberta Health to get clinics open and to support NPs in being able to do the work that they are trained to do.”
In January, the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) called on other provincial governments to adopt rules similar to Ontario’s “As of Right” rule, which, the group says, is “a promising step to improve access to care”.