What Is Dual Practice in Alberta?

Dual practice is a new model being implemented in Alberta that allows eligible physicians to work in both publicly funded and privately paid surgical care. It does not mean every doctor can begin charging patients, and it does not replace Alberta’s publicly funded health system. For patients, the important questions are which physicians and procedures are eligible, where private surgery can take place, what safeguards apply and which details are still being finalized.

What does dual practice mean?

In Alberta’s model, dual practice allows an eligible physician to provide publicly funded surgeries within the public health system while also providing eligible privately paid surgeries in approved private settings.

The distinction is important because Alberta physicians have traditionally operated under rules governing their participation in the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan. The new framework creates additional flexibility for certain physicians to participate in both forms of surgical care under defined conditions.

Dual practice is specifically about the physician’s ability to participate in both publicly funded and privately paid care. It should not be confused with the existing use of privately operated facilities to deliver publicly funded surgery.

Is dual practice operating in Alberta now?

Alberta is implementing the model in 2026.

The province began accepting expressions of interest from physicians on June 22, 2026. Alberta says a formal application process is opening as implementation proceeds, with applications to be reviewed and approved on a rolling basis. Approved physicians are expected to begin dual practice in fall 2026.

That means patients should distinguish between the legal and policy framework being established and the availability of an actual dual-practice service in a particular community.

Not every procedure, physician or facility automatically becomes available for private payment simply because Alberta has introduced dual practice.

Which physicians can participate?

Dual practice is limited to eligible physicians.

Alberta states that family physicians generally are not eligible for dual practice. Exceptions apply to family physicians with a subspecialty in anesthesia or surgical assistance.

Physicians are not required to participate. Alberta says doctors can continue practising entirely within the publicly funded health system or entirely in private settings, subject to the applicable rules.

Physicians participating in dual practice will also have obligations to the public system.

Physicians must continue public-system work

One of Alberta’s principal safeguards is a minimum public-system work requirement.

According to the province, physicians must complete a minimum number of hours in the public health system before they can offer private surgeries through dual practice.

As of September 2026, the exact hour requirements and some related processes are still being determined. Alberta says Acute Care Alberta will set the minimum public surgery hour requirements, conduct regular reviews and report on system performance.

This is an important detail to monitor. It means an article that gives a specific number of required public hours before Alberta publishes the final requirement could quickly become inaccurate.

Which surgeries may be eligible?

Alberta says eligible procedures will include surgeries already approved by the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta for appropriate facilities.

Examples identified by the province include:

• orthopedic procedures
• cataract surgery
• gynecological procedures
• ophthalmology
• selected ear, nose and throat procedures
• dermatology
• plastic surgery
• some minimally invasive general surgery procedures

This should not be interpreted as a guarantee that every procedure in one of these categories will be available privately. Eligibility also depends on the physician, facility, regulatory requirements and the developing provincial program.

Which surgeries remain entirely publicly funded?

Alberta has explicitly excluded certain categories of surgery from privately paid dual practice.

The province states that surgery for life-threatening conditions, including cancer, as well as emergency and urgent procedures, will remain entirely publicly funded.

This safeguard matters because dual practice is being introduced as an additional option for eligible surgery, not as a mechanism for requiring patients to pay for emergency or life-saving care.

Where can private surgery take place?

Alberta says dual-practice physicians will be able to provide eligible surgery in accredited chartered surgical facilities and hospitals under the applicable framework.

Hospital and Surgical Health Services and Acute Care Alberta are also working on a model for hospital-based dual practice, including the potential use of underused operating-room capacity.

The details of the facility matter. Patients should not assume that any private medical office or clinic can perform surgery simply because a physician participates in dual practice.

Surgical facilities and physicians remain subject to professional, accreditation and provincial requirements.

What happens to your medical records?

Continuity of care is another stated safeguard.

Alberta says records from privately provided services under dual practice must be uploaded to provincial health information systems. The intention is to ensure that other healthcare providers can access relevant information for follow-up care.

Patients considering private surgery should still ask how operative reports, diagnostic results, prescriptions and follow-up information will be shared with their family physician or other regular providers.

Does dual practice mean you must pay?

No.

Alberta states that Albertans can continue receiving care through the publicly funded health system. The government also states that no Albertan will have to pay out of pocket for medically necessary treatment because they cannot afford a private option.

A private surgical pathway is intended to be a choice for eligible procedures, not a replacement for insured care.

Waiting times and actual availability in either pathway may differ, so patients should ask what publicly funded options are available before deciding whether to pay privately.

Why is Alberta introducing it?

The Alberta government says dual practice is intended to increase patient choice, reduce pressure on public surgical wait lists, retain physicians in Alberta and allow patients who want private surgery to receive it within the province rather than travelling elsewhere.

Those are the government’s stated objectives. Whether the model ultimately improves public access, physician retention or surgical capacity is a separate question that should be evaluated using actual results after implementation.

That distinction is important. Policy objectives tell us what a program is designed to achieve. They do not by themselves prove what its long-term effects will be.

What should patients ask?

If you are offered a privately paid surgery under the new model, ask specific questions before making a decision:

• Is this procedure available through the publicly funded system?
• Is this physician approved to provide the procedure through dual practice?
• Where will the surgery take place?
• Is the surgical facility appropriately accredited?
• What is the complete private cost?
• What services are included in that price?
• Who provides follow-up care?
• What happens if there is a complication?
• Will my surgical records be uploaded to the provincial health information system?
• Will I have additional costs for anesthesia, diagnostic testing, medications or rehabilitation?

Patients should receive clear information before paying and should not feel pressured to purchase private care simply because it is presented as an alternative.

The PureFarmFresh approach

Dual practice is likely to remain politically debated as Alberta implements it. Our role is not to tell Albertans whether the model is good or bad.

There are reasonable questions about patient choice, surgical capacity, physician retention, equity and the effect private-pay care could have on the public system. Those questions deserve evidence as the program develops.

For now, we can distinguish what Alberta has established from what remains to be determined.

We explain the system. You decide what matters to you.