Private medical clinic sets up shop in N.S., raising questions about impact on public system

A private medical clinic has set up shop in Dartmouth, N.S., and although there's no signage outside the property yet, the Quebec-based health firm Algomed already has more than 200 patients registered at its private clinic.

As of now, it is already planning to open more locations in the Maritimes as it argues there’s a great need for access to primary care in the region.

"Halifax is possibly among the places in the country that has the least coverage of family doctors in the entire country, and so it’s a logical place to see if the technology we developed can actually assist,” said Dr. Adam Hofmann, a Montreal-based physician and CEO of Algomed Clinics.

The number of Nova Scotians without a family doctor continues to get worse.

At last count, 105,185 people are on the Nova Scotia Health Find-A-Primary Care Provider list, a number that only continues to climb to record highs and represents 10 per cent of the province’s population.

Hofmann says the clinic can help ease the burden on the overwhelmed public health system.

"Every time somebody comes into one of our clinics, that's one less person waiting in the emergency room," said Hofmann. "That's one extra hospital bed, that’s $2,000 off the taxpayer's bill at the end of the day."

The Nova Scotia Health Coalition says the privatization of health care only puts more strain on the public system.

"Every doctor that leaves the public system is one less doctor in the public system," said Alexandra Rose, a co-ordinator with Nova Scotia Health Coalition.

Rose says the human resources shortage in the public health-care sector would only be further exacerbated if more private medical clinics opened in the region.

"We do believe it is up to the provincial government to provide the health-care system with the resources that it needs to have a more long-term solution," said Rose. "Because we see the private clinic stuff as far more short-term."

The Algomed Atlantic Clinic is located at 800 Windmill Rd. and falls in Dartmouth North MLA Susan Leblanc’s riding.

Leblanc says private clinics shouldn't exist at all and calls this a failure of the Tim Houston government, which campaigned on a promise to fix health care.

"My question is to Tim Houston, he has said it will get worse before it gets better," said Leblanc. "But how come we aren't starting to see results? It's almost been a year."

The Department of Health and Wellness declined an interview with CTV News, but did issue a statement saying it is aware of the private clinic and is working with Nova Scotia Health to determine the impact that private medical facilities will have on Nova Scotians and the provincial health-care system.

"We do not regulate, license, or fund private health-care facilities," said the statement from the Department of Health and Wellness. "In Canada, health care is governed by the Canada Health Act, federal legislation that ensures reasonable access to health services without financial barriers."

"The Canada Health Act does not prohibit private medical facilities from charging patients for services that are considered insured services," the statement continued.

Algomed says its monthly $22 membership model and the $20 per-visit fee provide a cost-effective means of accessing primary care.

"It's less expensive to come and see us at Algomed than to park at the public hospital down the street," said Hofmann.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this article featured a statement from Nova Scotia's Department of Health and Wellness that contained an error regarding the ability of private medical facilities to charge patients for services that are considered insured services. The article has been updated to reflect that private facilities can charge patients for insured services.