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Getting medical help in Alberta is now only three-digits away with the launch of Health Link’s 811 calling system.
Alberta Health Services announced Monday a new, concise phone number for Health Link — its health information service.
To access the service, Alberta residents previously had to dial a 10-digit number in Calgary and Edmonton, or an 11-digit toll-free number elsewhere in the province.
The service gives callers “access to registered nurses and other health professionals,” said health minister Sarah Hoffman in a release. Health Link callers can receive immediate health information for both emergency and non-emergency health issues.
Health Services spokeswoman Tara Grindle confirmed there “was no cost incurred” for the switch.
The provincial health authority gave “telecom providers six months notice” of the switch; those providers worked the change into their networks, she said.
Agencies/Canadajournal
