A doctor's assistant prepares a measles vaccination in Berlin on Feb. 24, 2015.LUKAS SCHULZE/The Associated Press
A survey has found more than two-thirds of doctors' offices around Alberta failed to provide adequate after-hours care to patients.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons randomly called 117 offices and clinics across Alberta.
It found close to 70 per cent were not compliant with professional rules pertaining to after-hours care.
Instead of having access to their doctor or being provided contact information for an on-call physician — which is standard practice — many of the offices only provided an answering machine message that told patients to either go to the emergency room or call 911.
Some offices did not have a message.
Dr. Trevor Theman, registrar of the college, says good medical care doesn't stop at five o'clock.
"Absolutely, the expectation is every physician who has ongoing patient care responsibilities will comply with the standard," he says. "We think it's important patients have access after hours."
Health officials say directing people to emergency departments could burden already overcrowded ERs even more.
"It's not about blaming doctors for problems in the system," says Steve Buick, spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Mandel.
"It's about working with doctors to help do as much as we can in every part of the system to reduce the pressure overall."
The College of Physicians and Surgeons says it will continue to educate doctors but also recommends doctors join Primary Care Networks, a service where doctors work together to provide care to the patient population.
About 80 per cent of family doctors are in the care network.