Edmonton...January 8 2010.  Statistics contained in the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Statistical Supplement 2008/2009, produced by Alberta Health and Wellness, are now available.Statistics for 2008/09 contained in the report include: ·         Primary Care Networks grew by more than 15 per cent in 2008/2009 compared to the previous year and are serving more than 50 per cent of the province’s population.

• There were 30 Primary Care Networks in the province in 2008/2009, up from 26 the previous year; an increase of 15 per cent. A Primary Care Network is a network of doctors and other health providers such as nurses, dietitians and pharmacists working together to provide primary health care to patients.
• There has been a 79.5 per cent increase in total expenditures for Primary Care Network delivered health services from 2007/2008. There has also been an approximately 16 per cent increase in the number of patients accessing the networks.
• Primary Care Networks now involve 1,761 doctors serving almost two million Albertans.
• The number of physicians in Alberta increased three per cent to 6,266 in 2008/2009. In 2007/2008, there were 6,058 physicians.
• In 2008/2009, 865 physicians received more than $500,000 from the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan compared to 748 the year before.  Of the 865 physicians, 154 physicians received more than $1 million and 25 physicians received more than $2 million.
• Average annual payments to physicians were up four per cent (from $234,886 to $244,910).
• Total payments to physicians and allied practitioners, which include dentists/oral surgeons, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors, were up 7.7 per cent ($1,937,972,135 in 2008/09 compared to $1,799,224,796 in 2007/2008).

The complete Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Statistical Supplement 2008/2009 is available online at http://www.health.alberta.ca/newsroom/pub-annual-reports.html.Retrieved from:  http://alberta.ca/ACN/201001/276040A8395B6-932B-5A1E-9274C3DE06FC9995.html