Health Care and Social Assistance

In 2015, 11.4% of jobs in this province were in the health care and social assistance industry, with much of it funded by the province. Between 2016 and 2017, for example, the Alberta government will spend $20.4 billion to deliver health care to its residents. Its priorities include better access to primary and community-based health care. The province is also reviewing the Rural Physician Action Plan (RPAP) and has developed an Alberta Cancer Plan to 2030. Some of the initiatives in 2016 have included a review of mental health services strategies to reduce tobacco use, and consideration of issues surrounding medical assistance with dying.

Some of the province's key strategies between 2016 and 2019 call for industry expansion, with strategies that include broadening the model for home and community care, creating 2,000 public long-term care and dementia spaces, implementing an addiction and mental health strategy, and enhancing electronic health-record systems. Population health initiatives will also involve strengthening environmental public health policies and increasing immunization rates.