Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Alberta delays changes to physician payments

Mar 17, 2020 | 2:29 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta will not proceed with changes to physicians’ payments for complex modifiers on March 31.

“During these unprecedented times, we want to ensure physicians on the front lines can focus solely on providing patient care,” says Health Minister Tyler Shandro. “We’ve heard concerns that this change would result in what has been called ‘10-minute medicine.’ While we respectfully disagree with that characterization, we are nevertheless halting this change so that doctors can concentrate on the critical tasks at hand.”

A physician compensation advisory committee will be created to look into all aspects of the physician services funding model and make recommendations to support the delivery of patient-focused health services.

Complex modifiers provide incentives to doctors to spend more time with patients who have complex medical needs.

The first modifier that general practitioners bill for a visit will remain at the 15-minute mark at the current rate of $18.48. Other complex modifiers will remain at their current rates and time requirements.

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Alternatives to fee-for-service and complex modifiers will be developed with the assistance of the physician compensation advisory committee.

Details on the province’s new physician funding framework here.

There is no exact date for when the province’s proposed changes.