System Leadership and Partnership

Alberta's acute care crisis has been unfolding for many months. We need action toward solutions.

Resources for physicians and Albertans to assist with their advocacy efforts.

For Alberta doctors, the health of you and your family is our number one priority. And we’re concerned. As part of our ongoing efforts to address the health care deficit, we have created this page. If you've arrived here it is likely because you have already personally experienced access or care issues stemming from a shortage of system availability and capacity. We are providing resources for Albertans to help navigate in the interim, but we also need to hear your voice in order to bring attention to solving the crisis.

On April 17 the Alberta government committed to implementing the Primary Care Physician Compensation Model (PCPCM) by the fall of 2024. This new, modernized model will provide family physicians and rural generalists who are currently paid through fee-for-service or other compensation models with a new compensation option.

As promised, a new phase of AMA advocacy is beginning to help better understand what is happening in health care in Alberta. We are also hoping to identify ideas – with partners and stakeholders – for resolution, innovation and solutions. Be sure to bookmark this page as more issues will be posted regularly.

How will we fix what's ailing our health care system?

AMA members and their patients benefit from our work on clinical and health issues. Find out about AMA patient-centered initiatives.

Share your practice story through our easy-to-use video upload tool

The AMA Policy Statement on Indigenous Health confirms the AMA’s determination to be leaders in addressing past and current injustices to Alberta’s Indigenous communities.

On October 1, 2024, the AMA launched a major advertising campaign, Informed Reform. 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.

We want to hear from physicians about what's going on in your communities, what you're facing in your practices and what you and your patients need most.

Alberta’s physicians deserve to be heard—especially by those shaping the future of health care. 

As Alberta’s health system enters its next phase of restructuring with the launch of Assisted Living Alberta, the AMA is advancing evidence and expert-led recommendations for supporting continuing care through linkages to essential community programs and services.

The AMA wants to help Albertans understand what is happening in our health care system. Albertans can visit PatientsFirst.ca to learn more about the issues and sign up for updates. 

Have government changes or the realities of the pandemic changed your practice? Are you considering leaving the province, closing your practice or taking an early retirement?

In December 2023, the AMA launched a province-wide campaign to let MLAs and key cabinet ministers know that health care - and family physician and rural generalist practices - are a priority for the government's upcoming Budget 2024. Learn more.

The Specialty Access Strike Team (SAST) was formed by the Physician Workforce and Stewardship (PWS) Branch on February 24, 2026, in response to the ongoing issues with the referral system in Alberta. SAST will bring together physician leaders to foster internal alignment and coordination within the AMA, support collaboration with external partners and advance physician-driven improvements that will address referral barriers.

The Alberta Medical Association’s second annual State of Health Care Report brings together public opinion and patient experiences to highlight what Albertans are experiencing when they access care, highlighting both what is working well in our system and where gaps remain.