CALGARY— A leaked Alberta government plan that would allow physicians to work in both the public and private health systems would improve access to care for patients, says a report from the Montreal Economic Institute.
The MEI says evidence from Europe shows mixed practice systems can increase total clinical hours without reducing doctors’ participation in the public system. The think tank points to Denmark, where researchers found no significant difference in the number of hours doctors worked in public hospitals when compared with physicians who worked only in the public sector. The study also found doctors in mixed practice added hours in the private system while maintaining their public commitments.
The Alberta draft proposal, reported earlier Tuesday, would create “flexibly participating physicians” allowed to bill privately while continuing to work in publicly funded care. Under current rules, doctors who work privately cannot also work in the public system.
The MEI argues countries that permit mixed practice tend to have better access to care. It notes Canada ranks seventh out of 10 nations in the Commonwealth Fund’s access to care rankings and that all six countries ahead of Canada allow fully private medical practice alongside universal coverage.
The group says the leaked plan suggests Alberta is prepared to adopt an evidence based approach to reducing wait times.
The MEI is a public policy think tank with offices in Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary.
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