In providing funding, the ministry contradicts previous statements by health minister
A primary care clinic receiving funding from Alberta Health has been found to offer high-dose prescriptions of vitamin D, an unproven and potentially unsafe alternative treatment that the health minister had said would not be allowed.
Precision Health, a private clinic operated by Calgary-based private health foundation Pure North, has been revealed to prescribe vitamin D dosages of up to 50,000 international units (IU) a day — more than 12 times the tolerable maximum threshold established by Health Canada, according to CBC News. Pure North admitted that Precision Health prescribes high-dosage vitamin D treatments, adding that the clinic has performed vitamin D blood tests on many patients, which Pure North has paid for.
The foundation has repeatedly asserted that the regimen is safe and not an alternative treatment. However, provincial health ministry staff have found that high-dose vitamin treatments offered by Pure North could cause affects participants adversely, did not have adequate support in science, and claimed unverifiable health and economic outcomes.
After being told by CBC News that Pure North admitted to offering high-dose supplements, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman and the ministry have refused to answer questions about several public statements they had made concerning the clinic.
First, they had assured the public that a $4.2-million grant they granted to Pure North was to expand Precision Health as a primary-care clinic that “will not involve delivering vitamin supplements.” Hoffman had also said the funding would be “at risk” if there were any evidence of such alternative treatments.
But in an email to CBC News, Pure North spokesperson Stephen Carter said the foundation wasn’t aware that offering high-dose vitamin treatments could result in the clinic getting defunded; it only knew that alternative treatments would not be funded by provincial dollars.
Second, Hoffman and the ministry had said that the clinic would be monitored carefully by the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Alberta to ensure that it would not violate its grant agreement by offering alternative treatments.
However, when University of Alberta law professor Erin Nelson reviewed the funding agreement, he found nothing that explicitly restricts Precision Health from offering alternative treatments.
The Institute of Health Economics also said it is not monitoring any of the clinics for compliance with the grant agreement. According to a spokesperson, it is just supposed to evaluate a wider pilot project under which the funding to Precision Health, along with that for three other clinics, was given.
Third, the ministry has repeatedly maintained that Precision Health is completely separate from Pure North’s regular operations.
But Carter said Precision Health treats Pure North patients, adding that the foundation used its client list to source patients for Precision Health. Pure North has also paid for “many” vitamin D blood tests done for Precision Health patients, he said.
While Pure North and Precision Health operate from the same office and have many patients in common, Carter stressed that they have separate staff, finances, and electronic medical records systems.
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Precision Health, a private clinic operated by Calgary-based private health foundation Pure North, has been revealed to prescribe vitamin D dosages of up to 50,000 international units (IU) a day — more than 12 times the tolerable maximum threshold established by Health Canada, according to CBC News. Pure North admitted that Precision Health prescribes high-dosage vitamin D treatments, adding that the clinic has performed vitamin D blood tests on many patients, which Pure North has paid for.
The foundation has repeatedly asserted that the regimen is safe and not an alternative treatment. However, provincial health ministry staff have found that high-dose vitamin treatments offered by Pure North could cause affects participants adversely, did not have adequate support in science, and claimed unverifiable health and economic outcomes.
After being told by CBC News that Pure North admitted to offering high-dose supplements, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman and the ministry have refused to answer questions about several public statements they had made concerning the clinic.
First, they had assured the public that a $4.2-million grant they granted to Pure North was to expand Precision Health as a primary-care clinic that “will not involve delivering vitamin supplements.” Hoffman had also said the funding would be “at risk” if there were any evidence of such alternative treatments.
But in an email to CBC News, Pure North spokesperson Stephen Carter said the foundation wasn’t aware that offering high-dose vitamin treatments could result in the clinic getting defunded; it only knew that alternative treatments would not be funded by provincial dollars.
Second, Hoffman and the ministry had said that the clinic would be monitored carefully by the Institute of Health Economics at the University of Alberta to ensure that it would not violate its grant agreement by offering alternative treatments.
However, when University of Alberta law professor Erin Nelson reviewed the funding agreement, he found nothing that explicitly restricts Precision Health from offering alternative treatments.
The Institute of Health Economics also said it is not monitoring any of the clinics for compliance with the grant agreement. According to a spokesperson, it is just supposed to evaluate a wider pilot project under which the funding to Precision Health, along with that for three other clinics, was given.
Third, the ministry has repeatedly maintained that Precision Health is completely separate from Pure North’s regular operations.
But Carter said Precision Health treats Pure North patients, adding that the foundation used its client list to source patients for Precision Health. Pure North has also paid for “many” vitamin D blood tests done for Precision Health patients, he said.
While Pure North and Precision Health operate from the same office and have many patients in common, Carter stressed that they have separate staff, finances, and electronic medical records systems.
Related stories:
AHS salaries under scrutiny as province cuts healthcare costs
Alberta forecasts $400 million in savings following new doctor deal
