Organizational structure

There are 6 divisions within Alberta Health and Wellness, each responsible to the Deputy Minister.

Deputy Minister's Office

The Deputy Minister's Office provides leadership and encourages innovation for the purpose of encouraging and supporting healthy living; ensuring quality health services; leading the health system; and working collaboratively with partners. It provides policy co-ordination and issues management, human resources, and communications support and correspondence services for the minister and department.

• Communications – The Communications branch provides consultation and strategic assistance to the department program areas on media relations (news conferences and news releases), advertising co-ordination, editing, publication production assistance, briefings, communication plans and web development that connect the department directly to the public. The branch is also the webmaster for the ministry's public website.
• Human Resources – Human Resources provides leadership and advice on strategic directions for human resources management within the department. Areas of expertise include human resource planning, organizational analysis and design, job evaluation and compensation, employee benefits, staffing, employee development and employee relations. For more information on these services, visit http://www.chr.alberta.ca/

Community and Population Health

The Community and Population Health Division provides leadership in health promotion, disease control and prevention, wellness strategy development, health surveillance and environmental health. It facilitates co-ordinated approaches to improving public health through public health policy development.

Corporate Support

The Corporate Support Division provides legal advice and support, governance and administration of the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan, compliance monitoring, risk management and administrative functions required to enable the ministry to fulfill its mandate.

Financial Accountability

The Financial Accountability Division provides leadership on internal and external funding allocations, financial accountability, the cost of health services, performance measurement and fiscal planning. The division conducts analytical studies and works with the Auditor General on fiscal reporting matters. It also manages the ministry's financial resources, and capital planning.

Health Policy and Service Standards

The Health Policy and Service Standards Division is responsible for developing policies and standards to promote research and innovation for continuous improvement in the quality, accessibility, safety and responsiveness of Alberta's health system. It also works collaboratively with health ministries across Canada in addressing emerging health system issues.

Health Information Technology and Systems

The Health Information Technology and Systems Division provides leadership in setting the province's strategic direction for the Electronic Health Record, the provincial Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) policy direction, and security standards. It is responsible for the development and support of information systems that support the business needs of the ministry. The division is also responsible for business planning, developing and implementing information management policies related to the collection, access, use and disclosure of information in accordance with legislative requirements.

Health Workforce

Along with Alberta Health Services, physicians, professional colleges and other partners, the Health Workforce Division promotes innovative approaches and strategies to ensure there is a balanced workforce to meet Alberta's health needs in a fiscally sustainable manner. The division is responsible for physician and allied health workers' compensation negotiations; administration of the financial agreement between Alberta Health and Wellness, the Alberta Medical Association, and Alberta Health Services; alternate physician remuneration arrangements; and health workforce policy and planning.

Organizational structure effective December 2010

Toll-Free contact

To be connected toll-free in the province to any Alberta government office, dial 310-0000 followed by the area code and phone number of the office you wish to reach.

• Read more on Alberta's toll-free services

Outside Alberta, call long distance 1-780-427-2711 to reach the government's call centre.

For province-wide free phone calls to Alberta government offices from a cellular phone, enter *310 (for Rogers Wireless) or #310 (for TELUS and Bell), followed by the area code and phone number. Public and government callers can phone without paying long distance or airtime charges.

• Deaf/hard-of-hearing callers with a TDD/TTY, call 780-427-9999 in Edmonton or toll-free at 1-800-232-7215 throughout Alberta.