Dear Members,
Yesterday morning I met with Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange. I wanted to share some of the key points of our discussion with you.
For those anxiously awaiting news about the Physician Comprehensive Care Model, we’ve had many meetings about locking it down by the end of December. Our advocacy on that front continues and we have been heard.
While the PCCM was not the focus of yesterday’s meeting, the issues we discussed are equally urgent. I appreciate that the Minister listened and showed interest in further exploring the following matters:
- Modernizing alternative relationship plans — not only rates but establishing timely processes. We also require a category that supports team funding and availability of the right team members 24/7/365 in our facilities.
- Implementing a new claims information system that can keep up with modern health care delivery and replace the ancient and inflexible system that exists today.
- Serving rural Albertans better with delivery models (e.g., hub and spoke) to encourage a broader range of available patient care, increase retention of the rural generalist physicians we have today and the ability to attract those we will need tomorrow.
- Investing in specialties that have fallen behind their counterparts over the years, such as obstetrics, pediatrics, neurology and psychiatry.
These are just some of the many conversations that are underway. It is vital that we work together to find ways to provide world class health care to all Albertans.
Sincerely,
Shelley Duggan, MD, FRCPC
President, Alberta Medical Association
I have been involved in getting better health care for our Athabasca community for the past 20 years, in that time I have donated many many hours on numerous committees, including Physician Recruitment, hospital auxiliary, Lakeland health advisory committee, plus general health committees for our area. In that time I saw our health care deteriorating and it hasn’t stopped. I personally brought 3 health ministers to our community. At many of these meetings there was alway more than one representatives from AHS that I found were not interested in helping but there to get overtime! Let me give you an example: in a joint Athabasca, Boyle health meeting, that approximately 6 AHS members and 20 or so public were present, one was constantly on her cell, finally a member of the public spoke up, very loud so everyone could hear said ‘I hope you are smiling at your phone and not your crotch’ what an embarrassment. I finally quit all of these useless meetings as nothing was happening. Please feel free to pass on my note.
Please ensure women’s gynecological and reproductive health is one of the specialities included in your efforts to enhance services that have fallen behind. Gynecologists in particular are needed particularly in rural Alberta as well as in other under-served communities (Indigenous, racial used, new immigrant) to support women from cradle to cane.