Dear Members,
As we push to get the Physician Comprehensive Care Model over the finish line and continue to call for immediate stabilization of our collapsing acute care system, we know that investment in health care matters. It not only matters, it’s critical.
We sometimes see or hear comments made about the size of the physician services budget (PSB), the so-called historic investments that have been made and how much doctors are paid. What we don’t often see or hear is the context around those numbers. The vast majority of growth in the 2024 PSB is associated with more patients needing more services and not increased rates for doctors.
The reality is that physician fees are grossly out of sync with inflation in this province:
And the gap is widening.
Most Alberta physicians are small business owners, and their offices are a major part of the infrastructure of our health care system. As with any business, there are costs associated with running a medical practice. Physicians pay for these business costs out of the fees they charge to the health care system for the services they provide to patients:
Doctors in Alberta employ over 25,000 Albertans and contribute significantly to local economies and industries. Physicians hire other service providers, including nurses, nurse practitioners, medical office assistants, clinic managers, dietitians, physiotherapists, accountants, tradespeople, technicians, etc. It’s hard to keep all that going when we aren’t even close to keeping up with inflation. To be even more explicit: staff wages, leases, utilities and the cost of supplies have been skyrocketing while physician fees have remained stagnant and worse, while specialties like family and rural medicine have taken massive pay cuts. Physicians cannot hold their employees’ wages stagnant simply because the government refuses to adequately budget for population growth and inflation within their yearly health care budget.
Physician compensation in Alberta has lost its competitiveness when compared with other provinces. Other provinces are struggling with physician recruitment and retention too, but they are responding. They are putting tangible solutions in place, including increasing fees and bringing innovative compensation models and arrangements online. They have recognized the value of physicians within their health care system and have adjusted accordingly. Albertans need their government to do the same.
Regards,
Paul Parks
President, Alberta Medical Association