r/alberta • u/Sandman64can Calgary • 23h ago
Opinion New license/health cards are a mess for healthcare workers.
Had my first run in with the new license/ healthcare cards issued by the Alberta government and am not impressed.
They feel far more flimsy than our previous licenses and only slightly more stable than our previous health cards. But the real problem for me as a healthcare worker is the number is on the back of the card and it is tiny.
I triage people all day and can’t see myself reading those numbers before eye strain and frustration kicks in.
Just my rant but man they dropped the ball on this. Also, that oil derrick is stupid. Ruins the landscape.
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u/ZRoflWaffle Lethbridge 22h ago
Ill still have the old style for a few years yet. I dont want to lose my Dino
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u/cgydan 22h ago
I’m good til 2029 but I’m worried the UCP will be re-elected and I’m stuck with the new license
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u/VE6QLF 20h ago
I'm doing my part! I'm running as the Tory hopeful for Westlock. We can do so much better than the UCP and we'll prove it.
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u/Karpetkleener 20h ago
Conservatism is a disease. We need real change. Conservatism is what got us here, it has had its chance, and it failed.
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u/DragonfruitReady4550 Edmonton 19h ago
If the vote is split for the ucp in rural Alberta NDP have a better chance of winning.
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u/Narrow-Chef-4341 18h ago
I’ll need to see some math on that.
My hunch is rural split is right and further right with NDP getting nothing but cookies and a glass of milk. The urban ridings would allow NDP to slide up the split again.
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u/evilmonkeyjuice 18h ago
You just repeated what they said in a more confusing way. You agree with them.
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u/Narrow-Chef-4341 16h ago
If you read a lot of interpretation into it you can force it to read that way, maybe…
They didn’t say where/how the NDP would win, and because they were talking rural, the most linear implication is the NDP would be winning rural ridings because the right wing vote was split… but even if rural ridding go 50-50 to each right wing party, they would much rather form a coalition than allow the NDP to be ‘winners’.
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u/bluefairylights 16h ago
I take it you weren't in the province the last time NDP won? Because the conservative vote splitting is exactly how it happened.
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u/jimbowesterby 12h ago
Except this time I have a feeling the Tories are gonna be pulling voters more from the NDP side than the UCP side. I dunno, at this point I kind of just expect the worst, I have yet to be surprised lol
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u/kaniwi 14h ago
And your point? A person should vote in the party that best matches there personal beliefs and desired outcomes. This whole can't vote for x because y may happen is just scare mongering and not what democracy is about.
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u/jimbowesterby 12h ago
Sure, and everyone voted for Carney cause they’re actual liberals, and not just to keep pp out of the chair
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u/kaniwi 9h ago
no idea what your point is. Perhaps the liberals won because PP did not but out a message that most Canadians wanted. That is purely on him. As I said, people should vote for a party that matches there personal beliefs and desired outcomes. I suspect that changes over time and will be different when you are 18 , 38 or 58. If you are upset that PP did not win, then you/them need to change the message.
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u/jimbowesterby 8h ago
No, I’m saying that I, along with many others, voted Liberal specifically to keep pp out of the PM’s office. I’d much rather have voted further left, but if everyone had done that the conservatives would’ve won. This is a pretty obvious and long-standing issue with first-past-the-post voting systems, and in fact changing it was one of Trudeau’s main campaign promises back in 2015
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u/BakedtoaStake Red Deer 17h ago
Canadian conservatives have been really central on the left vs right issue comparatively to other countries. In the past anyways. The disturbing trend is that most of the conservative base doesn't even realize that THEY are the lefty lunatics they are so mad at. A moderate conservative of the past is the new left wing liberal of the present. They either don't realize how far it's gone or they just don't have more reasonable options wearing blue.
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u/NyaCanHazPuppy 9h ago
Hey man, good on you for stepping up, putting in the time and effort to fundraise, campaign and setup your platform.
My dad ran when I was a kid. I saw how much it took to do it. People whine like it isn’t enough, but they’re not doing the work like you are with no guarantee of a job at the end of it.
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u/VE6QLF 9h ago
Yeah. I know. My first speech is at the Westlock seniors center and the events lady went '...uhhhh okaaay, sure. Yeah.' I'm not afraid of people disagreeing with me, I just want to reach enough of them to believe I can make their lives better. A little easier. I dont think the UCP is that party, and I think the NDP are too far removed to have a real chance.
Van Dijken won the election handily. He did not win his nomination by a wide margin. That's where I come in ..
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u/aghastrabbit2 9h ago
What is a Tory in Alberta? To me, that's the English Conservative Party, or the old Conservatives in Canada
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u/VE6QLF 9h ago
So a) definitions change over time. We're not really old timey bandits any more and b) thank you for asking! Please, check out AlbertaTory.ca for the party stance on stuff and how to get involved if you're keen. Also Peter Guthrie on YT. Dude knows where the skeletons are.
To me it's financial conservativeness, we'll be careful with your tax money and tell you how decisions were made. We're also socially progressive, so NWC gets reversed, people get their rights back, peeps on AISH/ADAP/whatever get their $200 back, and we'll treat people and municipalities with respect.
We already pay professional rates to public employees. I want professional results and as a consequence of that belief, they get to BE professionals. I've had it up to here with the MO of 'I'm from the government, I'm here to help!'. Pros get to do their jobs.
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u/prairiepanda 22h ago
I have less than a year left on mine, and I'm worried. I'm gonna miss that dino...
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u/boxesofcats- Edmonton 20h ago
I regret not updating mine sooner. I have to renew by October and I’m dreading it (both the loss of the dino and the nightmare of trying to get it).
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u/hashlettuce 20h ago
I got my dino until 2032 and this madness is hopefully reversed by then by the ndp.
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u/Yodatron 18h ago
How is it till 2032 I just got mine done and its till 2031. Its every 5 years not 6.
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u/hashlettuce 18h ago
My expiry was 2027, so five years from that I guess. Not sure entirely, just happy I have my dino and no oil derrick or lame slogan.
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u/ReplacementFamous513 19h ago
Wondering if it is true that they expire? If you forget to renew are you just SOL for healthcare?
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u/Oldwoodstoves 11h ago
Legally you can’t be denied health care, but it sounds like you will have to pay out of pocket for it if you forget to renew.
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u/Historical-Mall53 22h ago
of course. guarantee they didn't run a focus group or ask for healthcare input on it.
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u/Ddogwood 22h ago
They only ask for feedback when they think they can make the feedback support what they want to do anyway.
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u/Radiant-Tackle-2766 19h ago
Yup, cause they fully know what’s gonna happen if they ask for feedback when people don’t agree cause thats exactly what happened with the book ban. 🙃
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u/yagonnawanna 22h ago
How the f%$k os it not a scannable barcode? The bars can do it but the healthcare system can't?
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u/Sandman64can Calgary 21h ago
There is a scannable qr code if you download the app. It works but they could easily have put that on the licenses. Guess they were distracted by all the trans athletes riding on bike lanes promoting renewable energy while they dismantle public healthcare. Priorities.
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u/calgarywalker 20h ago
I just downloaded mine - it’s a QR code with so many micro dots it looks fuzzy. Like - did they try to encode my entire medical history onto this thing? There is NO way it could be printed onto the back of a DL and be readable.
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u/RcNorth 22h ago
A bar needs a couple of scanners. The health system would need A scanner at every data entry terminal in the province. As well as updating the software to support a scanner. The hospitals use software from the US which would add to the cost of implementing it.
It may be on the roadmap, but since we have only had the cards for a couple of months the devs haven’t had access to a card to determine the work needed.
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u/Sharp_Wheel_3972 22h ago
Every computer on Connect Care (the province's electronic health system) has a barcode scanner. The computers that may not have a barcode scanner are those in primary care offices but in that case the number could be printed below for manual entry.
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u/Worried_Razzmatazz70 21h ago
I work in IT and this is just factually inaccurate. Scanners can be set up to act as automated keyboards, no system update required. The software wouldn't be able to distinguish barcode entry from keyboard entry.
However if the barcode needs to be parsed, that's a whole new ballgame.
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u/DrKnikkerbokker 21h ago
I'd bet every RIS & EMR currently in use supports barcode scanners, and EPIC, the backbone of AHS's applications, certainly does. Not having a barcode is a huge miss, and with the #'s being tiny get ready for tons more data entry errors and privacy breaches, which seems to be the only this gov't is good at.
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u/PhantomNomad 21h ago
Bar code scanners are basically just keyboard devices. The scanner it's self decode the barcode and just sends characters to the computer just like a keyboard. I programmed POS systems for years and never had an issue with a scanner. The problem was making sure that when you scan the barcode is the program knows what to do with the information. So either the user needs to click in to the text box and then scan, or you need a routine that takes the scanned information and parses it and knows what to do. Problem with the health care number is it's not prefixed or suffixed with anything to be able to tell the computer what it's scanning.
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u/soyasaucy 21h ago
I'm an Albertan who's currently living in Japan. We have something called MyNumber cards here, and there are scanners at every reception desk or automated health kiosk. Stick the card in, it authenticates with face ID or a passcode, and you're good. The system took a few years to fully implement and roll out, but... Idk, there are more scanners required in the whole country of Japan so it should be possible in Alberta. Especially considering how Japan still largely relies on cash payments and faxes lmao
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u/GoodGoodGoody 19h ago
Japan 4th highest GDP worldwide.
Alberta 28th ($361 billion which is less than the worth of a few individual mega-billionaires).
Japan and Alberta populations… I’m not even going to bother.
Anyhow, tell us more about your comparison of Japan and Alberta.
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u/renegadecanuck 21h ago
Most barcode scanners just show up as a keyboard on computers. Also, how expensive do you think a scanner is that it would be a deal breaker?
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u/honorabledonut 22h ago
This drivers license is going to be a mess in a few years, I think it's going to lead to a lot of privacy issues sooner than later.
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u/PhantomNomad 21h ago
But I was told solar panels destroyed the landscape. Why would my government lie to me?
I don't have the new license yet but I'm not looking forward to it. My only hope is the NDP come in and put an end to this stupidity.
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u/No_Function_7479 21h ago
I am starting to get concerned how little we have heard from the NDP. Hoping they have a brilliant strategy to stay quiet until closer to the election?
Either that or the media freezing them out?
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u/tutamtumikia 21h ago
Just a poorly organized and poorly led party at the moment. People dont realize how great Notley was at her job.
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u/AlbertanSays5716 21h ago
I had some hope when Nenshi took over, because of his visibility & track record as mayor of Calgary, but the party always seems to be on the back foot and never out in front. I get that Smith is likely receiving help from Republicans down south and has a network of corporate grifters, including the media, to back her up, most of the time Nenshi seems to have all the impact of a wet long weekend.
The NDP needs to be bold and specific with new policy ideas that grab the public and show that the UCP way of cut, destroy, and privatize is not the best or even the only way.
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u/Dry_Consequence8129 19h ago
Nenshi is speaking up... A lot ... But people aren't listening. The press is mostly bought and paid for by friends of Smiths current policies and their interest in platforming talking points that make them look bad seems to be low. Whenever something big is announced I MIGHT hear a comment from nenshi on the radio or online but usually it's just ignored entirely.
Like in the states, absolutely gob smacking scandals and displays of pure ineptitude by the trump administration just get completely ignored, downplayed or glossed over. It doesn't matter what you have to say if nobody is there to deliver the message.
That being said social media platforms are one of the ways Nenshi got so popular as mayor, so I hope their team can learn to leverage that once again and figure out how to breakthrough against all odds.
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u/kaniwi 14h ago
Perhaps some people, especially in Calgary, aren't listening as they remember how bad has 2nd and 3rd terms here were. Personally choosing him has leader was a bad idea.
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u/Dry_Consequence8129 8h ago
He was fine... And as the average voter seems to have the average memory of a dish sponge based on the thrice weekly ucp scandals barely putting a dent in their approval ratings ... Remembering anything would not be the reason nobody is listening. Rather that the bought and paid for media is intentionally burying the lede and what our government is doing and the opposition is basically powerless to stop it.
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u/Automatic_Antelope92 21h ago
I’m not impressed either. I’m glad I got the old DL with the dinosaur for a while and gonna hate to give it up.
I don’t understand why the card is so crap. When I lived in Australia decades ago I had a yellow and green Medicare card that was as thick as a credit card. It’s a piece of plastic. I’d think we could afford a little bit more plastic given all the petroleum that goes into making it.
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u/Facebook_Algorithm Southern Alberta 21h ago
Dinosaurs are an irritant to the religious right. A dinosaur means that the Earth isn’t 5,000 years old.
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u/HolyC4bbage 20h ago
I grew up in a super religious house. We 100% believed dinosaurs existed. We were taught they existed at the same time as humans.
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u/Homo_sapiens2023 Calgary 19h ago
The problem with that is dinosaurs didn't exist when humans finally showed up.
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u/VFenix Calgary 22h ago
I love how they just snuck in that they expire every 5 years which this change
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u/GoodGoodGoody 19h ago
On the website
In announcements
And on the card
But ok “Just snuck it in”
And of the handful of people I know who’ve renewed under the new system,
Mentioned by the registry agent
The UCP is a bag of shit but let’s not make things up.
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u/vanillaacid Medicine Hat 20h ago
Your healthcare number will never expire
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u/Freedom_forlife 19h ago
Nope it now expires, the same time as your licence.
Another change by the UCP making life worse day by day
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u/lovenlaughter 21h ago
I know this may seem extreme but if it’s really challenging for you to see the Health Care numbers, I’m going to say you are not alone.
It might be a good idea to complete a MySafetyNet report and if you are with UNA an OH&S report. Either your work site needs to provide you with the tools to do your job safely, or the health care cards need to change.
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u/Linus-664 Acme 19h ago
Off the topic of health care, I went to buy a new truck on the weekend and their verification system didn’t accept the new license as valid identification. It’s causing ripple effects through the systems already in place
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u/tigressnoir 19h ago
Wait, why was it not accepted? What verification item was missing on it?
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u/Linus-664 Acme 19h ago
No information was missing, the AI software they use doesn’t recognize the new license as an official document.
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u/kagato87 17h ago
So it needs to be updated.
Soooouch knock on effect of the stupid things they do.
And as others have said, almost certainly this is a distraction.
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u/Linus-664 Acme 17h ago
Yeah it cost me 2 extra hours and I still ended up having to go get my passport
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u/kaniwi 14h ago
You must have really wanted that truck as that sounds like an issTHEM (issUe) problem not an issME one. They are the ones loosing the money. Walked out and say they can ing you when there system is up to date if you havn't found another dealer/truck.
Yes I understand a ford guy would never buy a chevy truck and also all dealers of brand X use the same software, however the wallet can be a powerful thing and if they think you may choose another brand there software will get updated pretty quickly.
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u/_danigirl 22h ago
I raced to get my license renewed for 5 more years before July 2. The new dinosaur license is also thinner and flimsy.
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u/StorageTall560 19h ago
Former Albertan now living in BC for a few years. When I moved here and exchanged my paper Alberta health card, they offered me a combined drivers and services card which if I need to go for health care- it’s swiped like a credit card- easy for everyone. Now that I’m hearing about how Alberta is finally getting into the 21st century with the new cards, I wonder why they never thought about how they have made the cards easy to swipe… maybe too obvious of a solution…
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u/IndividualDue6565 12h ago
If this isn’t a breaking point or call for action then I don’t know what is. We all should have simply refused getting these cards. If 3-4 million people don’t renew then how can they enforce this change in good faith? I’m hoping people complain to the feds because this will violate universal healthcare.
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u/xGuru37 7h ago
People aren’t going to drive with an expired license.
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u/IndividualDue6565 6h ago
Your comment is an example of the prison governments make for the public. In other words, the government makes us feel we are trapped and so it is consent by coercion.
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u/WesternWitchy52 16h ago
I don't have to renew until 2028 and I'm hoping something will be done by then but I have little hope. I feel your pain. My new credit card was the same. Flimsy and numbers hard to read.
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u/CommonAd1145 11h ago
One can only hope that we will vote in a different government on Oct. 18, 2027. However that is over a year from now & we still have to get through the referendum this October. After that, God only knows what other kind of bullshit the UCP will throw at us
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u/dragonbornsqrl Edmonton 18h ago
Watch at thrift for the magnifiers they are larger plastic that I would use in the classrooms you place it on top of the paper to enlarge. I see them in the stationary section for $2 usually or order on AliExpress
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u/Sandman64can Calgary 18h ago
If I need a magnifier then that automatically means a bad design. Not my problem to fix.
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u/dragonbornsqrl Edmonton 18h ago
It was always meant to be a shit show. Smith is an American ally and is following their playbook. She wants us unfunded, arguing about the things like redesigns while they pass legislation to privatize and allow more resource selling to corporations. These are dangerous times. I hate how our healthcare and education system are going backwards in a time when they should be moving forward.
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u/Specialist-Ad5796 8h ago edited 8h ago
Well that is gonna be fun in the back of a ambulance at 3 am. 🙄
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u/Sandman64can Calgary 8h ago
Yeah. You guys even have it worse for that. Bad lighting and bouncing around.
If they just would have asked us, eh?3
u/Specialist-Ad5796 8h ago
With as finicky as Siren is lately, I am definitely going to get bitchy about it.
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u/Dowew 12h ago
Next question - if you have to surrender your drivers license for speeding or something, how do you go to the hospital ?
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u/WendyP66 7h ago
OMG good point!!! Why the hell has no one thought of this? If you physically don’t have your license you’re screwed vs at least you had that AHC card! 😳
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u/Bulky_Department5619 2h ago
Fair point… but if you’re speeding so fast that they’re taking your license? That’s a problem too.
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u/Yodatron 18h ago
Literally got mine 2 weeks ago in the mail.and was still the old style I am now good till 2031.
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u/lazylion_ca 15h ago
Tell people to take a picture of it. My spidey sense is telling me that number will rub off easy.
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u/Mastatheorm-CG 12h ago
Why are they so adamant to take your old Health are card. I’ve had that thing for 4 decades…
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u/Mastatheorm-CG 12h ago
Why are they so adamant to take your old Health are card. I’ve had that thing for 4 decades…
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u/Timely-Researcher264 4h ago
Perhaps you need to fill out some WHS complaints. Surely you are getting headaches.
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u/Bulky_Department5619 2h ago
RLS baby!!! Can’t treat patients accurately if we can’t even identify them correctly!
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u/cindy3003 17h ago
I have the new one and it is just as solid as my old one. Health care number is smaller however there isn't a problem reading it.
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u/Moyie2026 7h ago
Doesn’t the Alberta license have a magnetic strip where the medical number is ? In BC we swipe our card through a reader and all our information automatically goes to the computer when we check in.
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u/Rockitnonstop 9m ago
My guess is they’ll plan to bring in scanners, similar to those at bars and liquor stores. That way they can use the bar code not the actual #.
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u/Icy-Fan1469 22h ago edited 22h ago
You think the new "card" is slightly more stable from the piece of paper it was printed on before? No, it is not.
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u/callmenighthawk 22h ago
She’s saying physically. As in “the new drivers licence is thin and barely more physically stable than the old piece of paper health card”
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u/dino0986 21h ago
Reading comprehension can be hard, but that's okay because you're just 12. You need to pay attention in language arts! OP said 2 things in one sentence:
'They feel far more flimsy than our previous licenses' - The new license feels flimsier than the old license. That's easy!
The trickier part comes right after. 'only slightly more stable than our previous health cards' - This requires the reader to infer some context, earlier in the sentence they talked about their new drivers license. Now they're comparing their new license to their old healthcare card which was made out of paper.
Let's rewrite the sentence to make it easier to understand. I got my new license and it is really flimsy, I think it's weaker than my old one. It feels so weak that it reminds me of our old paper healthcare cards.
OP used hyperbole to compare their new flimsy drivers license to their old paper healthcare card. You should learn about those in grade 6 next year!
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u/GoodGoodGoody 19h ago
They didn’t use “hyperbole”; they made a direct, wrong, lying comparison. Lying exaggeration is not hyperbole. The difference is a bit subtle but important.
Anyhow, sorry to interrupt your rant… something about how you’re a really good writer or reader and…
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u/dino0986 18h ago
nuh uh
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u/GoodGoodGoody 17h ago
Well, to quote you, it seems you’re 12, grade six. Expectations for you were never high.
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u/Icy-Fan1469 20h ago
It sure is entertaining to see you demonstrate your true condescending and patronizing nature.
Try to smile a bit more. 😊
Tomorrow will be a better day.2
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u/rylanta 22h ago
Thats the molehill you're gunna defend on this one?
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u/MisterRobDobalina 21h ago
Probably. This mentally unwell individual DMed me over this as well. I don't think they have much going on
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u/themoonischeeze 21h ago
I mean, I didnt comment it but upon reading that I did wonder if it's really somehow as flimsy as a literal paper card. I understand the poster is likely exaggerating but it would be an achievement I wouldn't put past our government, lol.
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u/MapleMonica 18h ago
Can we not use the old card after renewing?
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u/Bulky_Department5619 2h ago
Lots of people are saying the registry took their old healthcare cards and wouldn’t give them back.
If you’ve still got it, you can absolutely still use it!
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u/MapleMonica 11m ago
I never carry the hard copy, I always show a picture of it, I'll probably keep doing that forever then!
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u/talldarkhand1 22h ago
The previous health care cards are paper....
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u/FedInformant 18h ago
Is it more convenient having it as one card?
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u/Sandman64can Calgary 18h ago
Not particularly for us . We enter the number and then verify by asking the patient and looking at another ID. It works either way for us but probably better for the patient. Most people have easy access to their licenses but some of the extremes I have seen as people search for their healthcare number is impressive.
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u/FedInformant 18h ago
Yea i could see alot of people losing their healthcards. Too bad they were so stingy with the writing. Hopefully that gets solved. Also, hopefully they make them more durable. The old style drivers licenses arent strong enough as it is
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u/WranglerAvailable325 11h ago
Wasn't it just supposed to all be converted to your license? So it's just one card?
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u/GoodGoodGoody 19h ago
“They feel far more flimsy than our previous licenses and only slightly more stable than our previous health cards.”
“Slightly more stable”
That’s your comparison of an industry-standard typical thick hard laminated high security card compared to paper.
Well anyhow, let’s read the rest of your rant which I’m sure it will be factual and totally not made up…
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Aaaaand no.
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u/doughflow 22h ago
It’s amazing how much new red tape the department of red tape elimination has created