President's Letter
Dear Members,
Members have commented about a recent media event with the Premier, Minister of Health and Alberta Health Services Official Administrator. At this public relations event the OA outlined progress on his mandated tasks relating to reduced surgical wait times, emergency room wait times and emergency medical services response times.
Congratulations to AHS. They have made improvements. It’s also important to note that the crisis is far from over.
Members are seeing unchanged pressures in the ER and ER closures continue at various rural sites. In my own practice, I have noticed no change in the lengthy wait to see a specialist and many Albertans are still unable to find a family physician. The backlog for many laboratory medicine investigations is also adding to wait times.
Change at AHS comes with cost. Alberta Health holds the purse strings. Follow the money/budget as we look forward to further improvements.
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.'"