Frequently Asked Questions

Timing - Why now?

Consistent with our values of accountability and transparency, Alberta Health Services has posted on the AHS website the first stage of performance measures for 2009-2012 to demonstrate the overall performance of Alberta Health Services in managing our provincial health system.

Preparing this first stage of key performance measures has been challenging. Former health regions had used different definitions and different ways of collating data which didn't allow accurate or fair comparisons between sites or zones. It has taken considerable effort and time to resolve many of these discrepancies and to ensure the data are accurate and comparable across the province.

The release of this report reflects the success of these efforts.

More performance measurements will be released as the data integrity continues to evolve and additional indicators become available.

What’s in the report?

The report includes key measures to demonstrate the overall performance of Alberta Health Services in managing our provincial health system.

Also included are data relevant to the performance targets agreed to by the AHS Board and President and CEO Dr. Stephen Duckett – such as reduced wait times for complex cases in Emergency Departments, reduced wait times for hip and knee surgeries, and improved access targets for patients waiting in hospital for community-based care.

The report includes performance measures spanning the continuum of care. There’s information on primary care, continuing care, population and public health and acute care. In addition, about forty performance indicators such as timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction rates and others are used to present and compare various dimensions of quality and utilization in our health system.

Information is provided by zones whenever possible, and sites when appropriate. Where available, a three-year snap shot is used from fiscal years 2006/07 through to 2008/09 (year end March 31). This includes detailed activity and quality data on hospital, emergency and urgent care for the province. Wait time measures are provided for selected procedures in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009/10.

Are wait times reducing?

The medical system is experiencing pressures in all areas of care. As we report this data, some of which is months old, it is important to note The changes made by staff have already resulted in positive outcomes and reduced wait times. Those results will show in the next reporting quarter.

We commend our staff and physicians for their dedication and commitment to improving the system and thank them for their continued efforts.

We still have significant stress on our health system and we know that more needs to be done.

In Emergency Departments, for example, factors contributing to overcrowding and longer waits include a growing and aging population, sicker patients with more complex needs and high admission rates. These are systemic problems that require system-wide improvements.  Just as multiple factors contribute to overcrowding and long lengths of stay, multiple strategies must be implemented to ease the strain on the system.

Decreasing the average length of stay in our Emergency Department while maintaining safe, quality care is a priority. Although there is no one answer that will overcome our ED challenges and immediately improve the system, we are committed to helping ease the burden and working toward continually improving it. The reality is, our situation would be much worse had these many improvements not been made. Numerous initiatives have been introduced across the province to address ED overcrowding and long average lengths of stay. In fact, Alberta has been a leader in this area.

Development of standardized data collection and provincial ED performance indicators will provide the foundation for establishing benchmarks and performance targets.

Where did the information come from?

The data are derived within Alberta Health Services (site and zones) and through collaboration with Alberta Health and Wellness, the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA), the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI), and Stats Canada.

Is the information current?

The data collected are current to the dates specified on each table/graphic, and are as current as possible given the challenge presented in integrating data from nine former health regions and three provincial service providers into a single provincial health service provider.

It is worthy to note that for many areas, changes implemented during the transition and in recent months, have already resulted in positive outcomes and reduced wait times. Our next reporting quarter will reflect those changes, and we want our staff to know that their efforts are having positive gains in the timely delivery of care in many service areas.

What performance indicators are included in the report?

About forty performance indicators such as timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, satisfaction rates and others are used to present and compare various dimensions of quality and utilization in our health system.

What’s a benchmark?

A benchmark is the acceptable standard by which something is measured. It is the set standard that is expected to be achieved.

What does cohort mean?

Cohort is a collection or sampling of individuals who share a common characteristic.

Why are wait times used as a measure of performance?

Wait times are commonly used as indicators of the efficiency of a health system. A variety of factors can impact the wait times such as the demographics of the local or service population, treatment patterns of physicians, the number of emergency surgeries (which have higher priorities in use of resources), nursing shortages, or job action. (Statistics Canada).

What is Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery?

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient's body are grafted to the coronary arteries to bypass atherosclerotic narrowings and improve the blood supply to the coronary circulation supplying the myocardium (heart muscle). In some cases, alternative intervention to improve blood flow to the heart muscle may be used instead of bypass surgery.

What is an Urgent Care centre?

Urgent Care Centres are medical facilities for people who have unexpected but not life-threatening health concerns that require same-day treatment. The Urgent Care team is made up of nurses, doctors, and other health care providers.

Urgent Care Centres operate separately from hospitals.

What is an ambulatory Care Centre?

Community Ambulatory Care Centres provide diagnosis and treatment for illnesses and injuries for unscheduled patients who require immediate medical attention for non-life-threatening conditions.

Community Ambulatory Care Centres operate separately from hospitals.

What does CTAS mean? (Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centres)

Patients triaged at Emergency and Urgent care facilities are assessed on their presenting condition with an acuity level between 1 and 5 based on the Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS).

Those patients requiring immediate intervention and possibly resuscitation are assessed as CTAS level 1.

CTAS level 2 (emergent) and CTAS level 3 (urgent) categories represent patients needing attention.

Patients attending emergency for less-urgent (CTAS 4) and non-urgent conditions (CTAS 5) may represent conditions which would be more appropriately addressed in primary care where available.

Assignment of CTAS levels at triage can vary across sites. For the purpose of this report, when a CTAS level is not recorded, a value of 9 (meaning “unknown”) is subsequently assigned. Where this value (9) occurs, the percentages of patients seen at that site with CTAS levels 1 though 5 may not total to 100%.

What does Alternate Level of Care (ALC) mean?

ALC is defined as when a physician (or designated other) has indicated that the patient occupying an acute care hospital bed is well enough to be cared for elsewhere in the community, and therefore they are awaiting admission to a Long Term Care, Designated Assisted Living (DAL) or Personal Care Home (PCH).

What does "median" mean?

Median can be considered the "middle" value of the data, numbers or population.  For a given median value we know that half the values will be less than the median and half will be more than the median.

The median is used to describe the location of the centre of the data but does not necessarily give us an indication of the variation or spread.

What does "percentile" mean?

A percentile can be described as the value below which a proportion of the data values fall.  For example, a 90th percentile indicates that 90% of the values for a set of data are below that level.

What does "mean" mean?

The "mean" (commonly called average) is the sum of all measurements divided by the number of measures taken. 

The mean will be greatly affected by some extreme values in the data (outliers) and in these situations a median may instead be used to describe the centre in order to better reflect a “typical” case. 

The Performance Report may not display correctly in all browsers. If you are having difficulty viewing the report online, it is also available in pdf format.