Your Alberta Health Act – New Legislation
Share your views on new legislation
An Alberta Health Act would make Alberta’s health legislation more consistent, easier to understand and easier to manage as our health care system continues to evolve.The Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health recommended that an Alberta Health Act be drafted as an enabling framework for Alberta’s health system.
What is enabling legislation?
Enabling legislation sets out roles, responsibilities and the limits of authority for individuals, defined groups or organizations. It typically defines what must be done, what is allowed to be done, and what is not allowed.
Enabling legislation doesn’t make all detailed decisions about a given subject. Instead, it identifies who will make certain kinds of decisions and sets out the basic ground rules for how decisions should be made. For example, the Municipal Government Act is enabling legislation for local government in Alberta. This legislation sets out what kinds of bylaws and decisions your city, town or county council has the power to make. Your city, town or county council then decides on the types of bylaws and decisions that reflect the interests of their residents.
Enabling legislation establishes the ground rules and sets overall directions, expectations and goals. It allows us to be flexible in how we accomplish these through regulations and policies.
What do we mean by regulations?
A piece of legislation (or an “Act”) often gives an individual or group of individuals the power to create regulations. The power to make regulations can be given to a specific Minister, Cabinet as a whole, or some other group.
Regulations are binding legal rules, just like legislation. They provide for more detailed, specific decisions that can evolve over time. For instance:
- Ensuring doctors, nurses and other health professionals have the right skills;
- Establishing what kinds of health services can be provided in different settings such as a doctor’s office, a clinic or a hospital; and
- Ensuring standards for quality and safety are met.
Regulations have to be consistent with the broader Act they support. A person or group that is given the power to make regulations must do so within the ground rules established by the Act.
How would an Alberta Health Act work?
The Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health recommended that an Alberta Health Act establish the fundamental principles that the health system is based upon. It should also provide the scope and flexibility needed to deal with health demands today and in the future.
Essentially, an Alberta Heath Act would lay out the ground rules for Alberta’s health system – what needs to be done, who is responsible, and how decisions are to be made. It would be used as a guide for making regulations and policies in ways that are clear, consistent and aligned.
The Committee recommended that this “system of checks and balances” be built by:
- Putting principles in the Act;
- Being clear that Alberta’s legislation respects the principles of the Canada Health Act;
- Developing a patient charter;
- Involving the public and stakeholders in decision-making through consultation; and
- Providing for evidence-based decision making through an independent organization that can sort through the research in order to help the system make better decisions
How would legislation improve clarity and consistency?
The Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health recommended that the Alberta Health Act improve clarity and consistency in the health system. Using common definitions would be one way of doing this. Another important way to make the system easier to understand would be by clarifying roles and responsibilities among health providers.
Roles and responsibilities
A number of stakeholders are involved in Alberta’s publicly funded health system. For example:
- Albertans who use the system, their families and communities;
- Health professionals who deliver care and staff who support them;
- The Ministry of Alberta Health and Wellness;
- Alberta Health Services;
- the Health Quality Council of Alberta; and
- Regulatory bodies that govern standards of practice and conduct of health professionals.
Clearly establishing the roles and responsibilities of these players will help the overall health system work together more efficiently and effectively. Knowing who is responsible for providing services versus ensuring those services meet regulations, for example, will improve accountability and help build trust in the system.
Clear and consistent defintions
The Committee also recommended that the Alberta Health Act should establish clear and consistent definitions for key health concepts, such as medically necessary services, community care, and types of health facilities such as clinics and hospitals. Right now there are over 30 separate pieces of health legislation. In many cases they use inconsistent definitions about things such as basic services and hospitalization. As part of modernizing health legislation, these definitions would be clarified and used consistently.
