Plans to expand services at Red Deer Primary Care Network could be in jeopardy if doctors lose funding in their upcoming contract with the province.
The physicians’ contract ends March 31 and the Alberta Medical Association is negotiating to maintain nine funding programs that were developed in lieu of fee increases to deal with issues like recruitment and retention and enhanced family care.
The Red Deer Primary Care Network has 70 family physicians who lead multi-professional health teams to provide comprehensive care and increased services for chronic disease, mental heath, weight loss and low-risk pregnancies.
“The government is wanting us to take on more responsibility for PCNs. But it’s impossible to take on more responsibility without giving us the resources to do it,” said Dr. Peter Bouch, Red Deer network chairman.
Eliminating funding that helps primary care networks get started and maintain the business side of operating a network will also prevent Olds from developing a network, Bouch said on Wednesday.
The Red Deer network was looking at increasing mental health resources for patients and has already added psychologists to better serve patients.
“(Mental health service) is probably the one that’s being used the most in our PCN.
“But we’re going to have to have a freeze on hiring anybody new. We just don’t have the finances.”
Other programs on the chopping block are support for doctors and their families, he said.
“Doctors who are under stress or worried about burnout, they can get help, their families can get help, so they don’t leave medicine or change. It was helping physicians deal with the multiple stresses, especially those people in rural areas.”
Maternity leave is also on the line.
“Our graduating classes of medical students, the majority are female and they are all young and tend to have babies. Most other professionals are getting time off for maternity leave.”
The Alberta Medical Association says losing the nine programs will reduce a full-time family physician’s earnings by an estimated $35,000 per year.
According to the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Statistical Supplement for 2009-2010, released by Alberta Health and Wellness, a general practice family physician’s average gross earnings was $263,135, of which 40 to 50 per cent goes towards the cost of running an office, staffing, supplies and more.
Bouch said as more doctors have joined the Red Deer network, pressure is growing on network services while Alberta’s population continues to increase and more doctors are reaching retirement. The province needs to be competitive to attract more doctors.
“We’re at a crossroads with a huge amount of physicians provincewide that are going to be retiring. We’ve always struggled in recruitment. This is going to impinge on recruitment efforts even more.”
“Younger physicians are mobile. They are looking around and they’re looking for what’s best for them and their family. With these programs possibly coming under the knife, suddenly Alberta is not looking so favourable.”
In the throne speech, Premier Ed Stelmach said the government wanted every Albertan to have a family doctor and cutting program funding for physicians is not the way to do it, Bouch said.
szielinski@www.reddeeradvocate.com