To be eligible for reimbursement of CME expenses, a Physician must:
Be a regulated member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, who holds a practice permit issued under the Alberta Care Health Professions Act (excluding physicians on the postgraduate register unless the postgraduate trainee is registered as a Physician extender).
• Have provided Insured Medical Services whether paid by Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, or any other party; or have provided public health services funded by AHS, within the fiscal year they are making the claim. Insured medical services includes clinical services provided through an alternate relationship plan or the academic medicine health services program
• Be employed by or a party to a service agreement with a person under section 20.1 of the Act that enables the person to receive payment of Benefits in respect of Insured Medical Services provided by the Physician under the employment of service agreement.
Be a full member of the AMA or a non-member who has paid an administration fee equal to full membership.
What expenses are eligible?
- Conventions or meetings, including conferences outside Canada, provided there is a recognizable medical education component.
- Preparation material for a physician’s presentation of a scientific paper.
- Preparation materials for a physician teaching or otherwise providing CME.
- Self-assessment programs, literature searches and registration fees for the University of Alberta/University of Calgary Medical Information Service.
- Preparation material for a physician’s presentation of a scientific paper.
- Preparation materials for a physician teaching or otherwise providing CME.
- Literature searches and fees for medical information services.
- Economy airfare, taxi, rental car, and parking.
- Automobile travel costs $0.505 as per Government of Alberta Rate, for out-of-town travel.
- An allowance of up to $270 per day is available for items like meals and accommodation for out-of-town events. This applies to days while attending the CME function and up to two travel days per course.
- An allowance of up to $50 per approved Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credits earned either through the MAINPRO program or the MOC program. To claim overhead allowance payments, eligible physicians must retain proof of approved CPD credits earned but not the cost of any corresponding overhead.
- Literature, books, subscriptions (e.g., Up to Date), CDs, podcasts, monographs, videos, e-learning modules that are recognized by the CPSA as CPD through MAINPRO or MOC.
Direct expenses incurred to complete a CPSA-approved PPIP activity, including:
- Practice-driven quality improvement activity using objective data (e.g., fees paid to gain access to data required for PPIP activities, fees paid for data-mining and evaluation services using physician practice data).
- Personal development activity.
Groups of eligible physicians can pool their annual CME program allotment or a portion thereof to participate in eligible group activities.
- Eligible group activities include those under “Registration fees”, “Reference materials”, “Preparation material”, or “CPSA-approved PPIP activities” above.
- Each eligible physician will be responsible for submitting their individual portion of the eligible expense for reimbursement.
Items not listed are ineligible for reimbursement. Examples of ineligible items include:
- Computer hardware, electronic devices, including digital cameras, handheld computers (e.g., iPad and iPhone), scanners, printers, laptops and labour/maintenance charges, accessories (e.g., cases) for electronic devices and internet.
- Labour/maintenance charges and accessories such as cases.
- CFPC and RCPSC membership dues up to the MAINPRO or MOC/CPD fee.
- Pre-registration of events prior to attending.
