Alberta to launch review of AHS

EDMONTON – The newly elected United Conservative Party government is following through on its campaign promise to conduct a review of Alberta Health Services. Health Minister Tyler Shandro (pictured) said his ministry is seeking bids from the private sector to conduct the review.

“It’s going to be a fresh set of eyes from the outside, the first time in 10 years since AHS was created,” Shandro said.

The main thrust of the review is to find efficiencies, but evaluators will also look for ways AHS can improve its service performance, the Edmonton Journal reported.

Alberta’s $22-billion health system is the most expensive in Canada on a per-capita basis. AHS accounts for $15.2 billion of that spending.

Premier Jason Kenney said during the campaign there was “enormous waste” and a “massive bureaucracy” within AHS. Critics countered that Alberta’s health system has the lowest administrative costs in the country at 3.3 percent of overall spending, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Kenney has floated a $200-million saving. Asked if that’s still the goal, Shandro said he didn’t want to prejudge the work