Alberta health performance reporting inconsistent and insufficient: auditor general

Alberta Auditor General Doug Wylie speaks in Edmonton on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Better public health reporting guidelines are needed in Alberta to ensure high-quality health care in the province, according to the auditor general.

An audit of Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) public performance reporting found it was “inconsistent and not high-quality.”

“Alberta is undertaking the most significant health system transformation in over a decade, creating new health care entities and promising better results for Albertans,” Alberta’s auditor general, Doug Wylie, wrote in the report.

“Transparent and reliable public reporting is essential to demonstrate cost-effective results are being achieved.,” he said.

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The AHS audit is one of eight reports released Thursday morning by Wylie’s office.

It found public reporting on the Healthcare Action Plan for the 2023 fiscal year was “inconsistent from report to report” and “lacked features of high-quality public performance reporting.”

AHS’s business plan for 2023 was not published and the plan for 2024 wasn’t released until 300 days into the fiscal year, the AG report found.

“Without clear, consistent, and current guidance, accountability reporting will not achieve the high-quality Albertans expect,” the report states.

The auditor general’s report includes five recommendations for improved healthcare reporting:

• implement a provincial healthcare system performance reporting framework;
• update and clarify the 2005 accountability documents guidelines;
• ensure provincial health entities have policies and procedures aligned with provincial guidance;
• maintain mandatory legal registers for provincial healthcare entities; and
• improve corporate records management.

Flood information denied

Another audit released from Wylie’s office aimed to examine the province’s flood mitigation systems and impacts, but was denied critical information requested, the report says.

The auditor general requested information from Alberta’s ministry of municipal affairs about analyses of risks of development in flood hazard areas.

However, the ministry refused to provide the auditor general the information, stating it was privileged, the report says.

“Our report remains incomplete without this information, which we believe is important to the public,” Wylie said in the Thursday news release.

“Examining analysis, prepared by a department, as it relates to risks and risk management is a routine part of our work. As a result, our findings may not reflect pertinent and significant information, and our work is incomplete in this regard.”