Nearly $16M to expand virtual care in Alberta

OTTAWA – Alberta will receive nearly $16 million from the federal government to support its efforts to expand virtual healthcare services for its residents. Under the agreement, the province will invest federal funding based on agreed-upon pan-Canadian priorities for accelerating virtual healthcare services during the pandemic.

Alberta has also finalized its action plan that outlines how the province is investing the funding under the bilateral agreement to expand virtual health services. Alberta will use the funding to:

• Establish an eHealth Strategy that includes virtual care;
• Expand the MyHealth Records patient portal information and capabilities;
• Develop secure messaging and collaboration services to enhance communication; and,
• Develop a privacy and security framework for virtual care.

Through these initiatives, Alberta is working to improve access to healthcare services while prioritizing the patient experience and keeping the privacy and security considerations of health information top of mind.

The Honourable Jim Carr (pictured), the federal government’s Special Representative for the Prairies, said, “This is an important step to provide Alberta residents with access to more virtual healthcare services. Supporting virtual services is one way our government is working with provinces and territories to improve health outcomes and access to services, while meeting patient needs during COVID.”