Response to Alberta budget

April 15, 2016

Dear Member:

Yesterday afternoon, the provincial government released its first full budget. The budget is the government’s estimate of what it will require to meet its obligations and commitments while ensuring Albertans obtain the services they need.

From that perspective, the budget’s amount for physician services appear low when considering the impact of service levels, population growth and aging. It is difficult to see how the budget can be satisfied without a reduction in service.

Additionally, some of the elements required for necessary health system reform do not appear to be present. One area that has potential for high return on investment is primary care, where additional support to primary care networks (PCNs) could have a significant payoff. The return to previous funding levels for PCNs is appreciated, but at some point we are going to have to invest more heavily in the community.

I do want to acknowledge – and commend – an important budgetary provision: $400 million for a clinical information system within Alberta Health Services. The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) has long advocated for improved information sharing in our electronic health systems. We need good information to understand the system and make it more efficient and effective. It’s to be hoped that government’s e-health investment will contribute to improved access for patients to their own health information and support modern communication between patients and physicians.

As members know, the AMA and Alberta Health are in negotiations that are about working together to “bend the health care curve,” by which we mean slowing the rate of growth of health care expenditures. This is happening under the current 2011-18 AMA Agreement which continues in force. Any proposed changes to the agreement would require a vote by physicians.

The AMA Board of Directors is meeting today and an update from the Negotiating Committee is on the agenda. We believe that these negotiations have the potential to move toward a more sustainable health care system – and we all have a responsibility and understand the need to do so. The critical proviso, however, is that this does not occur at the expense of access to a quality health care system that delivers real value for patients.

Your comments are always welcome. Please email president@albertadoctors.org or leave a comment below.

Kind regards,

Carl W. Nohr, MDCM, PhD, FRCSC, FACS
President