Practice nurses in Alberta are hoping to soon receive compensation for the services they provide to the public in their private clinics, after the government announced new support on October 19.

According to Alberta Health Services, nurse practitioners (NPs) are registered nurses (RNs) with advanced degrees, knowledge, and skills. They are trained to assess, diagnose, treat, order diagnostic tests, prescribe medications, make referrals to specialists, and manage overall patient care.

In a press conference, Health Minister Adriana LaGrange stated that Alberta will provide a new payment model to encourage nurse practitioners to open their private clinics and accept patients, "providing services based on their scope of practices, training, and expertise."

LaGrange noted that these immediate measures will help address urgent pressures and enhance primary care, as well as improve access to family medicine.

This plan follows the recommendations of a report from the Alberta Primary Health Care Reform Initiative (MAPS), a series of advisory committees started last year, aimed at identifying gaps in the province's healthcare system.

LaGrange said nurse practitioners play an important role in the province's healthcare, and their training allows them to provide a wide range of healthcare services, including treating acute and chronic medical conditions, prescribing medications, and delivering preventive care.

For her part, Susan Brinderghast, President of the Alberta Nurse Practitioners Association, said this announcement represents a new direction in healthcare reform in the province.

This is exactly what we asked for, and it could have happened sooner. She added that the fact that we are moving forward here now is truly reassuring.

Brinderghast stated that the details regarding how nurse practitioners will be compensated exactly and how the plan will be implemented still need to be worked out, but she hopes this step will reduce pressure on the provincial healthcare system.

Also, with the new support from the government, Brinderghast said that nurse practitioners who open their private clinics will be able to provide care for patients who have been unable to find a family doctor.

She added that the long-term goal is to provide service providers in rural and remote communities as well as urban centers.

Nurse practitioners currently work from primary care networks or physician offices to help manage patient loads. However, within this system, they do not have the opportunity for direct billing, as Brinderghast mentioned.

The province has allocated $125 million over the next three years to implement the recommendations outlined in the Alberta Primary Health Care Reform Initiative (MAPS) report.