The new dual practice model, announced by the Government of Alberta, supports increased access to eligible surgical services by enabling approved physicians to deliver both publicly funded and privately paid surgeries in accredited facilities (e.g., Chartered Surgical Facilities (CSF)).
Dual practice is designed to help expand surgical capacity, improve patient access and reduce wait times while maintaining the integrity of Alberta’s publicly funded healthcare system.
As Alberta's provincial acute care agency, Acute Care Alberta (ACA) works with health system partners to improve access to care, increase system capacity and support high-quality patient care. The Ministries of Hospital and Surgical Health Services and Primary and Preventative Health Services oversee dual practice. ACA is responsible for operationalizing dual practice and will help ensure that dual practice supports public system priorities and delivers benefits for Albertans.
ACA will closely monitor dual practice and provide regular reporting to government. Monitoring is a critical safeguard to ensure that the introduction of privately paid surgeries does not negatively impact the publicly funded healthcare system. Specifically, monitoring will help ensure that:
Publicly funded surgical capacity and access are maintained or improved
Physicians continue to meet public system service commitments
Public waitlists are not adversely affected
Public resources, including workforce and facility capacity, remain protected
Quality, safety and patient outcomes are upheld across all publicly funded acute care settings
Risks are identified and addressed early
Program objectives are achieved and benefits for Albertans are realized
ACA will monitor the impact of dual practice on the public system through physician, system, waitlist and patient-related metrics.
Dual practice participation is contingent upon providers meeting eligibility requirements at enrollment and on an ongoing basis. If monitoring identifies concerns about impacts to publicly funded care, adjustments and corrective actions will be made to protect public system capacity, uphold accountability and ensure public health system priorities remain protected.
Physicians interested in enrolling as a flexibly participating physician in Dual Practice must apply and meet established program requirements.
Participation is subject to review and approval and is not guaranteed. Approved participants will be required to comply with applicable program requirements, monitoring processes and reporting obligations.
ACA will continue to monitor program impacts to support accountability, protect access to publicly funded care and help ensure public system priorities remain protected.
Review the Physician Information Package to learn more.
Physicians with questions about dual practice, application requirements, or eligibility criteria can contact
The Ministries of Hospital and Surgical Health Services and Primary and Preventative Health Services have put safeguards and eligibility criteria in place for the dual practice model to protect access to the public health system and prioritize patient safety. This includes restrictions on which physicians can participate and which surgeries can be provided privately, requirements for physicians to continue providing care in the public system, and ongoing monitoring and reporting of public and private surgical activity. Surgeries for life-threatening conditions, as well as emergency and urgent procedures, will remain entirely publicly funded.
More information is available on the Government of Alberta’s Dual Practice website.
These items are required to apply for Dual Practice:
An active Practitioner ID issued by Primary and Preventative Health Services;
A Professional College practice permit number (e.g. College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta); and
Must be enrolled as participating physicians in the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan.
Applications for Dual Practice open on Sept. 16, 2026.
Eligible physicians may submit an application through the portal.
Please note that submission of an application does not guarantee approval. All applications are subject to review against established program requirements and eligibility criteria. Approved participants will be required to comply with government rules for dual practice, including maintaining public surgery hour requirements, process monitoring and reporting obligations.
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The application process for dual practice does not change physician registration, licensing, billing status, or other professional practice requirements.
Information about changing practice status, including physician eligibility and regulatory requirements outside of the dual practice model, is available through the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and the Government of Alberta.
