Funding

As a result of the negotiations between Alberta Health and Wellness and the Alberta Medical Association for 2008-2011, the Physician Office System Program (POSP) received funding in the following areas:

  1. Funds to reimburse physicians for electronic medical records (EMRs)
  2. Funds to migrate physicians to new solutions, including change management services, data migration, etc.
  3. Transition allowance funding
  4. POSP funding

POSP uses an invoice-based reimbursement model to fund physicians for their EMRs. The physician is required to pay the full amount (100%) to the vendor. POSP will reimburse the physician for 70% of eligible invoiced costs as follows:

  • Physicians using a VCUR 2006 system receive a maximum of $740 per month (including GST)
  • Physicians using a VCUR 2008 system receive a maximum of $35,000 (including GST) per physician unit over five years.*

Physicians who transition from a VCUR 2006 EMR to one of the new POSP VCUR 2008 EMR solutions may also be eligible for a transition allowance, one-time funding meant to partially recognize the temporary loss in productivity and the time investment that will accompany a transition to another EMR solution.

*Funding for the Physician Office System Program was negotiated for the term of the current agreement. Any funding after March 31, 2011 is a matter for the Negotiations 2011.