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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 October 23 President's Letter
Here is AMA Fact Checkup – Issue 2. In this issue, we check and correct government on statements they have made.
Every day, misinformation about the health care system – often coming from government talking points – gets amplified and repeated in media coverage and on social media. For physicians, evidence matters. The barrage of misleading commentary is beyond frustrating.
Today we are launching a major advertising campaign.
The main message is this: Government is not listening to physicians. Decisions are being made without application of relevant expertise. Our system needs informed reform.
This is my first President’s Letter. I am honoured to take on this role. I will have your back and fight with everything I’ve got.
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.
Government claims that during negotiations, the Alberta Medical Association did not offer concrete proposals to deal with the province’s fiscal challenges. I thought members would be interested to learn more about what the AMA put forward.
One of the core functions of the Alberta Medical Association is the negotiation of compensation agreements on behalf of Alberta physicians. While the spotlight these days has been on our ongoing struggle to reach a master agreement with government, at any given time we are negotiating a number of different contractual arrangements for subsets of the membership.
The AMA sits on the Pandemic Community Supports Working Group, which is chaired by Alberta Health and also including Alberta Health Services and the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta. This working group has been a successful space for advancing solutions to pandemic issues, from establishing virtual care codes, to streamlining and clarifying communication issues and more.
As Alberta moves forward with our relaunch efforts, the need for PPE to protect vulnerable Albertans remains paramount. This is why the provincial government is keeping key groups as a priority while we change our distribution process.
In the ongoing impasse with the Alberta Medical Association, government continues to promote its own messaging, some of it misleading. The MacKinnon report alleges that Alberta doctors are paid far more than provincial counterparts (“as much as $100,000 a year” or “35%”). Other examples include claims that the AMA failed to bring forward any proposals during negotiations, and government MLAs have said that our negotiation strategy failed to include the interests of rural physicians.
Thank you for the fantastic response to our member’s survey April 14-24! Almost 4,500 members (32%) responded, giving a clear picture of what is important to you and providing a foundation for our advocacy and planning. Your thoughtful responses are greatly appreciated.
In the absence of an agreement, through our members the AMA continues to assert our representative role to effectively support you with respect to the Schedule of Medical Benefits, Alberta Health Services payments, clinical alternative relationship plans (ARPs) and all matters relating to physician compensation. Thank you for so actively supporting our profession to speak with one voice!
On May 5, I released a letter to the Minister. It was jointly signed by physician leaders as a declaration of unity within the profession and support for the Alberta Medical Association as the representative of physicians.
Thank you for your rapid response to the campaign the AMA recently launched enabling you to encourage your MLA and Health Minister Tyler Shandro to put Patients First® and get back to the bargaining table.
On February 20, 2020, the Minister of Health walked away from negotiations and terminated our contract. In doing so he violated the charter rights of all Alberta physicians by removing their access to independent third-party arbitration. As a result, the Alberta Medical Association launched a charter challenge against the provincial government.