Hospital overcapacity has been a persistent issue in Alberta. In 2025, alternate level of care (ALC) patients, on average, occupied 14.5 per cent of bed days in hospitals, above the 13.5 per cent provincial target. More than 6,300 patients spent between eight and 24 days in hospital unnecessarily rather than in environments more appropriate for their required level of care. In some very complex cases, ALC patients stayed 300 days or longer in the hospital.
In 2025, Health Quality Alberta worked with government representatives and other healthcare system partners to take an evidence-informed look at the current state of ALC and identify opportunities to optimize patient flow and access to community-based solutions across the province.
The Health Quality Alberta review team conducted 51 interviews between February 25 and May 20, 2025, with relevant health partners and key individuals involved in and responsible for ALC transitions.
In addition, the team reviewed policies and data to identify systemic issues, analyzed previously commissioned studies on ALC in Alberta, and completed a jurisdictional review to learn about promising programs, practices, and initiatives underway outside of Alberta.
Thousands of Albertans bring forward concerns every year through a variety of formal and informal channels across every level and sector of the healthcare system. A wide range of concerns are raised including unmet expectations or dissatisfaction with their care, patient safety issues, health system access, scheduling, communications, and interactions with healthcare providers.
In 2021 we conducted a review of patient concerns management in the province, and shared findings with key health system partners. Our review team engaged with more than 325 healthcare professionals, leaders, and patient concerns subject matter experts via focus groups and interviews.
We also engaged directly with more than 70 patients, family members, and community-based programs and organizations to hear first-hand stories from those with insight or experience navigating Albertans concern management processes during the past year. Another 1,719 patients and family members provided their perspectives via an online survey.
In summer 2024, Alberta Health Services (AHS) identified approximately 14,000 outgoing referrals from AHS providers to non-AHS community-based specialists and allied health professionals that were misprocessed, delayed, or never sent. The Minister of Health asked Health Quality Alberta to conduct a Quality Assurance Review to understand why the delays occurred and how to mitigate this risk in the future.
The Alberta Health Services Outgoing Referrals Review was completed in 2025, and the findings were shared with key health system partners. This review examined system factors affecting the outgoing referral process, including a jurisdictional review, a review of policies, procedures and training materials, and understanding people’s experiences through interviews and a survey of 381 patients. It outlines issues that contributed to the referral delays and provides recommendations.
In May 2016, at the request of the Minister of Health, Health Quality Alberta presented the report, Moving Ahead on Transformation of Laboratory Services in Alberta. In response, the Minister directed that a project team be established under a Steering Committee of senior officials. This committee would consider and address four themes: a provincial plan for integrated laboratory services in Alberta; one laboratory information system for the province; planning for new laboratory infrastructure to meet the urgent needs in Edmonton; and, a robust stakeholder engagement process to support these processes. The outcome of this work was a second report from the Health Quality Alberta, Provincial Plan for Integrated Laboratory Services in Alberta, 2017.
A Provincial Laboratory Services Project Steering Committee was established to provide oversight and expedited decision-making to the project team. As a participant on the steering committee, Health Quality Alberta developed for their consideration, a Provincial Plan for Integrated Laboratory Services in Alberta.
This report captures patient perspectives on an electronic referral system for Alberta’s healthcare system. Organizations looking to either improve the overall referral process or implement an electronic referral system can benefit from considering the patient perspective described in detail in this report.
A summary of a review conducted by Health Quality Alberta in response to a request by the College of Physical Therapists of Alberta to complete an independent review of adverse outcomes, specifically pneumothorax, resulting from dry needling practices by physiotherapists in Alberta, in order to improve the quality and safety of this practice.
