November 12, 2022
The province is continuing its plan to partner with non-hospital healthcare clinics to provide more publicly funded surgeries. The new charter facility for orthopedic surgeries will provide publicly funded surgeries under contract to Alberta Health Services. Like at a doctor’s office, the clinic will bill the province directly for surgeries performed. The province says the goal is to reduce patient wait times but critics say the facility is another example of the government pushing privatized healthcare in Alta. It’s expected that 5,000 surgeries will be performed at the facility annually. The province has over 40 chartered surgical facilities under contract with AHS.