President's Letter
Dear Members,
This is another brief update on activity.
There has been daily contact with government and AMA senior staff. There have been meetings between primary care physician leaders (Section of Family Medicine, Section of Rural Medicine, Primary Care Networks Physician Leads Executive) and the minister. All our representatives are aligned and clear on our commitment to membership and the need for urgent action to address the sustainability crisis in family medicine.
No commitments have been made but we are being heard and there is necessary activity underway toward any meaningful solutions.
According to July data from the albertafindadoctor.ca website, the number of family physicians accepting new patients keeps dropping. Family physicians are leaving comprehensive practice or moving away because their current practices are not viable. We received a brief message from a medical billing clerk that tells a now commonplace story. We need action soon to keep the physicians we have, and we must get started on years of work it will take to recruit and build back in a worldwide health human resource competition.
You are always welcome to share your thoughts with me. You can email me via president@albertadoctors.org. You can also comment on this letter on the AMA website.
Regards,
fred Rinaldi, MD, CCFP, FCFP, LLB, MBA, MPA(HSA), BCom
President, Alberta Medical Association
"Fate whispers to the warrior, 'You can not withstand the storm.' The warrior whispers back, 'I am the storm.'"