Informing Primary Care Changes in Alberta: Continuity and Potential Impacts on Acute Care.

Health systems across Canada are embarking on initiatives to enhance access to primary care services, with the intent of improving patient outcomes and mitigating escalating healthcare costs. However, it is important that such initiatives be carefully weighed with the evidence that the changes will indeed have the desired impact. In Alberta, part of the informative process involved an analysis to examine links between continuity with primary care and utilization of acute care services. The findings provide information regarding expectations for outcomes and potentially useful (and not so useful) measures for monitoring progress and performance.

Improving Physician Accountability through Primary Care Reform in Alberta.

Like other Canadian provinces and territories, Alberta has been attempting to reform primary care since the mid-1990s. Although initially these efforts were focused almost exclusively on the method of payment for physicians, since 2003, the focus of government policy has broadened to include other aspects of practice, including governance and accountability, improved continuity, the use of a team-based approach and the use of electronic information systems. Although significant progress has been made, Alberta continues to face challenges.