Alberta doctors report high-quality care but access remains limited
While 81% of Albertans with family doctors rate their care highly, only 53% can get timely appointments, a new report shows.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Most Albertans who see a family doctor are satisfied with the visit, but access remains the real problem, according to the latest Alberta Medical Association report.
The survey of 1,100 adult Albertans found that 82 per cent saw a family doctor in the past year, and 81 per cent of those rated their last appointment as high-quality. However, only 53 per cent said they could get an appointment in a timely manner. Meanwhile, 78 per cent of people visiting walk-in clinics do so because they can't access family doctors quickly enough.
The percentage of Albertans without a family doctor dropped to 16 per cent from 18 per cent in 2025, but access gaps persist in rural and smaller communities. Nearly three in 10 people actively searching for a doctor report that no physicians are accepting new patients in their area.
AMA president Brian Wirzba noted that the lack of continuity care affects the entire system: "When patients go and see multiple different practitioners and there's no coordination, we see duplication of care and inconsistent prescribing and testing." He said Albertans with good access to a family physician report 72 per cent satisfaction with the health-care system overall, compared to 53 per cent for those still looking for one.