Town of Pincher Creek residents worried about wide-reaching impacts of health care changes

Pincher Creek is just one Alberta community concerned about the fallout from a number of changes to the way physicians are paid.

Lethbridge — The provincial government is implementing 11 changes to physician rules and fees beginning on April 1, and officials with the Town of Pincher Creek are worried.

The town held a physician town hall Monday night, to lay out how the new government health care changes will impact residents and the community at large.

It’s taken many years for the Pincher Creek Health Centre to get to where it is today.

Those involved with the day-to-day operations believe the changes to the system haven’t taken into account the expertise of those on the front line of health care.

Mayor Don Anderberg says he’s been frustrated by the province's lack of consultation.

"What I am seeing is a decision that’s actually a one-sided decision, with no input from us to change how our health professionals get paid," Anderberg stated. "That’s concerning."

On top of worries over the changes affecting the allocation of funds for physicians, another key area of concern is over complex modifiers.

According to the province, these fees would mandate more time be spent with patients with complex needs, 25 minutes instead of 15, before an extra fee would kick in.

This plan will be phased in next year, but the complex modifier can still be charged at the 15-minute benchmark but will pay $9 instead of $18 for the rest of this year.

Family Doctor Samantha Myhr is concerned for her patients, as these changes will mean less time for everyone.

"Which means less of a relationship, things missed, multiple visits, it's an inconvenience to patients," she said. "They have to take more time off work for multiple visits, they have to get cut short, and some of them don’t know how triage their own issues necessarily — what’s fourth on their list may be first on ours."

Town hall

Myhr says before Monday night’s town hall, residents weren’t as aware of what was going on. But afterward, she says they understand a lot more now and they’re angry.

"They want their government to hear them. They want to feel like rural lives matter just as much as urban. They want to feel like they are not just someplace on a map — that they are people, and they deserve the same quality care," Myhr said.

She’s hopeful that Health Minister Tyler Shandro will come to Pincher Creek to see what comprehensive care can do in a rural environment first hand.

The Pincher Creek Health Centre is the lynchpin of the community. It helps attract doctors, nurses, support workers, EMS and more to Pincher Creek, where they work and build families.

Anderberg remarked about how since he became mayor back in 2005, the average age in Pincher Creek has reduced over time and attributed that directly to the health centre.

That’s why he’s frustrated by changes being made with no direct consultation.

"We’re not being able to ask the questions we want to ask and we’re not getting the feedback. The perception is not good, the reality maybe if we got to sit down and talk about things would be completely different, but we don’t know that."

Another issue is the Ernst and Young review of Alberta Health Services, which suggests that rural hospitals like the one in Pincher Creek may lose 24-hour emergency room coverage, surgery and obstetrics.

That would be a big blow for people like Ed Sinnott, a certified financial planner in Pincher Creek, who is still alive today thanks to the staff at the hospital.

"Without this facility, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you right now. Three weeks ago today I suffered a heart attack, and I think by standing here today you wouldn’t know that."

Sinnott says that’s primarily due to the quick and efficient action of the people at the hospital.

The impact of cuts will hit everybody in some way or another. Sinnott says the province is going through an unprecedented economic downturn, but cutting healthcare is like doing heart surgery when all they needed to do was remove a pimple.

"It’ll kill this community, and this won’t be the only one. Every rural community in Alberta is affected by this, and I just can’t believe it’s being discussed."