AHS exec to discuss controversial health care model

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Originally posted May 10, 2010; Updated May 17, 2010

By Kyle Glennie

Alberta Health Services CEO Dr. Stephen Duckett is no longer able to present at the third annual Health Policy Syposium at the Faculty of Medicine.  Chris Mazurkewich, AHS chief financial officer, will speak in his place.The Calgary Medical Students’ Association’s Health Policy Symposium at the Faculty of Medicine is quickly becoming a popular event, known for drawing in some high profile speakers who take part in discussions on some of the most pressing health care issues in Alberta.  In organizing this year’s event, UCalgary medical students Kevin Wasko and Colin Casault wanted to ensure a quality discussion on one of the hottest health care topics in our province–activity based funding–while securing a high profile speaker to take part.  That may sound like an improbable mission, but you can consider it mission accomplished.

Originally scheduled to speak was Dr. Stephen Duckett, CEO of Alberta Health Serivices (AHS), but Chris Mazurkewich, chief financial officer of AHS will speak in his place. Dr. Gerhard Keifer of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Chip Doig, president of the Alberta Medical Association, and Dr. Tom Noseworthy of the Centre for Health and Policy Studies round out the list of presenters. 

Activity based funding, a system that was successfully implemented by Dr. Duckett in Australia, involves paying hospitals a fee for each individual cared for based on the condition that needs to be treated, including patient characteristics that may complicate treatment of a given patient.  It is a much different funding model than what is currently used in Alberta, where hospitals are paid using global budgets, meaning that hospitals get paid a large sum of money in advance to provide services to Albertans.

Proponents of activity based funding argue it is a far smarter way to pay hospitals because it creates powerful incentives to deliver a greater quantity and quality of services, and to operate more efficiently.  But detractors of this system disagree, saying that if hospitals are paid on a volume basis but with no accountability for quality, then clearly hospitals would have an incentive simply to discharge patients sicker and quicker.

“The object of the symposium is to educate the physician population on the topic and present different perspectives on how this system would impact Alberta,” explains Casault.  Each speaker will give a brief presentation followed by a panel discussion where the speakers will trade comments back and forth.

The Third Annual Health Policy Symposium will be held on Wednesday, May 19 from 7:00pm to 9:30pm in the Libin Theatre at the Health Sciences Centre, 3330 Hospital Drive NW.