Alberta patients satisfied with doctors, many still unable to get after-hours care: survey

A new survey has found Alberta patients are satisfied with the care they receive from their family doctor for the most part, though many say they are still not able to access after-hours primary health care.

The March 2017 survey was conducted by albertapatients.ca, which is an online, members-only health care forum established by the Alberta Medical Association.

The survey found 72 per cent of respondents rated their overall last experience with an Alberta primary care doctor as excellent or very good, while 71 per cent said they were satisfied with the amount of time their doctor spent with them during their medical visit.

Forty-one per cent of respondents said after-hours care was not available from their physician and among those who did have access, 50 per cent rated it as poor.

Two years ago, the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons strengthened rules around the kind of care family doctors are required to provide patients outside of office hours after finding that very few primary care physicians were actually offering after-hours care. The new rules required physicians to either collaborate with colleagues in an on-call rotation, or pursue a formal written agreement with a service like Health Link.

READ MORE: New rules say Alberta doctors must provide after hours care 

The survey also identified appointment delays as an area of dissatisfaction among patients.  Forty-five per cent of patients who had a scheduled appointment for their last visit to a family physician reported that the visit did not start on time, though 59 per cent of those patients said they felt the delays were acceptable.

Among the survey’s other findings:

• 89 per cent of respondents reported their last visit to a family doctor was with their regular family physician
• 58 per cent were able to visit their family doctor within a week (either through a walk-in or a scheduled appointment)
• 24 per cent reported waiting for an appointment between one and two weeks
• 17 per cent reported waiting longer than two weeks

The full report can be viewed online.