Dr. Christopher Doig, president of the Alberta Medical Association, says the complaint numbers are a "wake-up call" for health-care professionals. (CBC)

Complaints about Alberta physicians increased 37 per cent in 2009 from the year before, the province's College of Physicians and Surgeons announced Wednesday.

Patients made 756 complaints to the college in 2009, compared with 550 in 2008.

It's the highest number of complaints since a high of 771 in 1998, according to Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky, who called the complaints "cause for concern" and "an opportunity for improvement."

In a news release, college registrar Dr. Trevor Theman, said no one has been able to explain the increase.

"Our best guess is that the increase is the result of several factors — including higher demands on the health care system, a shortage of physicians, increased wait times, or unclear communication between physicians and their patients regarding patient care expectations and health outcomes," he said.

About 41 per cent of complaints were about the quality of care and another 37 per cent arose from how doctors manage their practices.

"The availability of the physician," college spokesperson Kelly Eby said. "How their office is managed, the interactions with staff — organization, appointments, booking, as well as communications issues, both with patients' interactions with staff and patients' interactions with physicians."

'A wake-up call'

"I think it's a wake-up call for the profession," said Dr. Christopher Doig, president of the Alberta Medical Association.

Changes to the health-care system have put added pressure on doctors, he said, but regardless of the frustrations that might cause, "we must be first and foremost responsive to our patients."

The system has become increasingly complex, Doig said, so helping patients negotiate it can be difficult, especially given the shortage of doctors.

"Sometimes the health-care providers feel they're not empowered to make changes, they don't feel like their voice is being heard, and yet they're bearing the brunt of the expectations of the patient," he said.

David Swann, leader of the Liberal Party of Alberta, says increasing complaints are a direct result of pressures on the health-care system. (CBC)

"We've created an atmosphere of real stress," said David Swann, the former family doctor who leads the provincial Liberal party.

"Professionals are feeling inundated … the system is not responding, they've got people who have been delayed, and now have complications, and they have to find somebody to blame."

The number of complaints will likely rise as pressure increases on the medical system, said Swann, and it could further decrease the number of doctors available in Alberta.

"It's going to discourage practitioners from coming here, and there's going to be early retirements and more sick leave and just a compounding of this problem of access and quality."

Complaints first forwarded to doctor for response

Once the college receives a complaint, it is forwarded to the doctor, who is given a chance to reply. The college then determines if the complaint merits more investigation.

The most serious complaints are handled through formal disciplinary hearings, and there were five of these in 2009.

The rest of the complaints are handled by what the college calls an informal resolution process.

Of these, last year 34 per cent were remedied through resolution and 61 per cent were closed because the doctor was found to be right or there wasn't enough information to continue.

The remaining complaints were either withdrawn by the patients or referred to others.