A Memorandum of Agreement for government discussions

February 22, 2016

Dear Member:

This is the time to be proactive rather than allowing current trends to overtake us and limit our response.

I wrote to you last week (February 17 President’s Letter) about the profession’s role as stewards of health care resources. Stewardship – and finding ways to manage the financial difficulties facing the province – are part and parcel of discussions over past months between the Alberta Medical Association (AMA) and the provincial government.

Both parties have agreed to continue working together on improving our current relationship as defined by the AMA Agreement.

To that end, we have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to frame our ongoing discussions. The MOA recognizes that the AMA Agreement remains in place and can only be changed with the approval and ratification of both parties. The financial terms of the AMA Agreement run until March 31, 2018. Additionally, many important elements – including recognition of the AMA, provision for arbitration and several key programs – are evergreened and carry on past that date.

The fact that we have an agreement in place that both parties respect and have committed to is a significant advantage. It provides the opportunity to review what we already have in place, and also to look for improvements that serve the interests of both parties. Among other things, for example, we can proactively consider issues of sustainability (defined in terms of both financial factors and quality of care), with those of stewardship and physician leadership within the system to improve the care delivered to patients.

The Representative Forum will hear more at our upcoming meeting. I will keep you informed of developments.

As always, your thoughts and comments are welcome. Please email president@albertadoctors.org or leave a comment below.

Kind regards,

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