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The "voice of the AMA" – Published regularly throughout the year, the President's Letter informs you about Alberta Medical Association positions on key and complex issues in Alberta’s health care.
Read the November 22 President's Letter
As part of a cross-ministry effort by the provincial government, Alberta Health has invited the Alberta Medical Association to complete a survey on behalf of members. It relates to “legislative changes to safeguard freedom of expression for regulated professionals.”
Right now, the AMA is engaged in more advocacy than at any other time in our history. In the category of fact checking, we coordinated yesterday with section experts to respond to comments made by the premier in a news conference.
Here is AMA Fact Checkup – Issue 2. In this issue, we check and correct government on statements they have made.
Comments on the most recent President's Letter are enabled and welcome. You may also contact the AMA President by email at [email protected].
Below you will find previous issues of The President's Letter. For older issues no longer on the website, contact us.
As many of you are aware, as part of our advocacy and engagement with the public, we host an online patient community: albertapatients.ca. Through this forum we engage in dialogue with approximately 13,500 Albertans about health care issues in the province. Our latest survey, fielded May 19 to 27, asked our panel about their worries and priorities regarding their health care. We had more than 4,700 respondents and I want to share some of those results with you today.
News that the remains of 215 Indigenous children were discovered in a mass grave at a former residential school in Kamloops has drawn attention to a dreadful legacy of the residential school system. This is not an isolated incident: graves have been found at other former school sites, including in Alberta. The search for these is still incomplete.
As we come to the end of the 2021 Alberta Rural Health Week, I wanted to take the opportunity to add my voice to the celebration of rural health care in this province. As an urban physician and Albertan, I am indebted to the stellar health care teams who are part of the lifeblood and infrastructure of rural communities in our province.
This is to provide you with an update on several activities being undertaken by the Alberta Medical Association. These relate to our efforts regarding the compensation of physicians, the restoration of our relationship with government, the support of physicians during the pandemic and our engagement with members.
As you are aware, on May 13 government released a new public health order stipulating that medical exemptions for mask use will be allowed for a list of “verified health conditions,” and that an exemption letter will be required from a physician, nurse practitioner or psychologist.
Yesterday, government released a new public health order stipulating that medical exemptions for mask use will be allowed for a list of “verified health conditions.” An exemption letter will be required from a physician, nurse practitioner or psychologist.
The new public health restrictions put in place this week have been welcomed by the broader medical community. Like you, I have been watching the rising COVID-19 case numbers in Alberta with increasing concern.
Canadians have fervently expressed their thanks to all health professionals during this pandemic year. As physicians, we have been quick to recognize all team members who are working alongside of us. From our allied health colleagues to our underrecognized front line staff who keep our facilities running smoothly, we could not do our job without them.
The April meeting of the Board of Directors took place last week. This was our first opportunity to gather since the ratification vote. We spent two days discussing the challenges facing our members, patients and health care system, and how we can best address them.