Your health questions answered by HEALTHLink Alberta

HEALTHLink Alberta is on-call for you, 24-7. Answers to questions about how to manage a symptom or health concern or health topic are just a phone call away. Are you wondering about your child's immunizations? Maybe you are new to the area and looking for a family doctor - it's all at your fingertips.

HEALTHLink Alberta is a 24 hour a day, seven day a week telephone health advice service answered by registered nurses. Anyone with a health concern in Edmonton can call 780-408-LINK (5465) and 403-943-LINK for Calgary residents. Outside these local calling areas the toll free number is 1-866-408-LINK (5465).

Shaunne Letourneau, provincial director of HEALTHLink Alberta says, "Our goal is to give Alberta residents a greater role in managing their own health. We can help people make informed decisions about their health care and let them know what resources are available, all from the comfort of their own home. The result is a more knowledgeable public, fewer emergency visits and healthier people in the community - something that impacts and benefits all of us."

HEALTHLink Facts

• Launched as a province wide service in 2003
• Currently averages over 16,000 calls per week
• Call volume for the last four years has been consistently over one million
• 70 per cent of the calls are for health advice about symptoms
• 10 per cent of calls are for health information
• 17 per cent of calls are for health service wayfinding
• Three per cent of calls are residents looking for physicians who will accept new patients

"The ability of Link to direct people to the most appropriate service is key to ensuring patients receive the care they need when they need it," says Letourneau.

How is HEALTHLink helping?

• A caller from South Central Alberta feels a Link Nurse saved her teenage daughter's life when she called with symptoms related to an allergic reaction: difficulty swallowing, puffy eyes and face. Nurse advised the caller to take her daughter to the hospital immediately where she was treated for an anaphylactic reaction.
• A caller living in the rural north finds it difficult to get in to see his family physician. He is thankful for the convenience and peace of mind knowing he can call Link to find out if and when he needs to see his physician.
• A young couple in the Edmonton area, getting ready to start a family, called for information about finding a family physician. They also had lots of questions about how to maintain their health from preconception stage and throughout the pregnancy. They passed on thanks to the nurse for her patience and helpful information.
• A caller in Central Alberta expressed thanks for the service and noted she has called several times over the years. She was especially appreciative of the advice she received for her husband and said Link has saved her family at least two trips to the hospital "when they didn't need to go". She added, "I even told my MLA that this system works and we need to keep it."