In this issue:

General news

Voting is now open for the election of the AMA President-Elect (2025-26)
AMA seeking 2025 nominations for our esteemed awards
Strengthening Allyship in Action workshop
Now live! Access training for specialists and team members with a caseload
Removal of delay on remaining test results in MyAHS Connect
Referral information available for patients through My Personal Records
Your well being matters - assess your distress with the new CMPA tool
Thank a colleague through JPAC Shine on Gratitude Program

News and updates from

Section of Associate Physicians

Announcing: The Section of Associate Physicians (formerly known as the Section of Clinical Assistants)

Section of Diagnostic Imaging

Save the date - Section of Diagnostic Imaging Annual General Meeting (AGM)

Section of Emergency Medicine

Section update

Section of Infectious Diseases

Save the date - Section of Infectious Diseases AGM

Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine

Save the date - Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine AGM

Section of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Save the date - Section of Sport and Exercise Medicine AGM

General news

Voting is now open for the election of the AMA President-Elect (2025-26)

The deadline to submit your ballot is Thursday, May 29 at 4 p.m. and ballots are tallied in the presence of scrutineers. Visit the web page for more information and to vote (member login required).

AMA seeking 2025 nominations for our esteemed awards

Do you know a physician who has contributed to the improvement of the quality of health care in Alberta? Nominate them for an AMA Achievement Award!

The Medal for Distinguished Service is given to a physician(s) who has made an outstanding personal contribution to medicine and to the people of Alberta, and in the process has contributed to the art and science of medicine while raising the standards of medical practice.
The Medal of Honour is awarded to a non-physician(s) who has raised the standards of health care and contributed to the advancement of medical research, medical education, health care organization, health education and/or health promotion to the public.
The AMA Award for Compassionate Service honours a physician who is an AMA member and, during their career, has demonstrated outstanding compassion, philanthropy and/or volunteerism to improve the state of the community in which they are giving back.
The Medal of Excellence and Achievement in Rural/Remote Medicine is awarded to a physician who has made an outstanding personal contribution to patients of rural/remote Alberta and to the rural/remote community(ies) in which they live.

Nominations are due May 14, and the awards will be presented at the AMA’s fall 2025 RF President’s dinner.

Visit the AMA website to submit a nomination or request a nomination form by contacting Sarah Zieminek, Administrative Assistant, Public Affairs, at sarah.zieminek@albertadoctors.org or 780-733-3633, toll-free at 1-800-272-9680, ext. 3633.

Strengthening Allyship in Action

National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21 is a time to celebrate the strengths and achievements of Indigenous Peoples in Canada while reflecting on our roles in reconciliation and allyship.

Join us for a two-hour Zoom workshop designed to equip allies - physicians, health care professionals and medical learners - with practical tools to respectfully honour this day. Learn best practices for collaborating with Indigenous colleagues and creating meaningful programs and events. Learn more.

Now live! Access training for specialists and team members with a caseload

AMA-ACTT’s new Access for Specialists and Team Members with a Caseload training is now available.

This on-demand training will help address factors contributing to delays in patients’ access to care. It is designed to suit your schedule and pace, taking roughly two and a half hours to complete.

Reviewed by Alberta physicians, this eight-course curriculum is hosted on AMA-ACTT’s online learning platform, Learn@AMA.

Learners need to have a Learn@AMA account to access the curriculum. Don’t have an account? Complete the application form.

Removal of delay on remaining test results in MyAHS Connect

Starting April 3, 2025, all test results and their result-related documents are immediately available to Alberta patients. Note that prior to April 3, some test results had been held from patients for five days in MyAHS Connect, the online patient tool for Connect Care.

The test results that were previously held for five days, but are now visible to patients immediately, include:

all ophthalmology tests
endoscopy reports
pulmonary/respiratory tests and activities
sleep clinic studies
remaining cardiology reports

The immediacy of patient results means that this information will be available to patients at the same time as the ordering provider. Providers may wish to consider giving patients more information about the implications of different results at the time of ordering a test.

Get more information.

Referral information available for patients through My Personal Records – Update

As of April 26, 2025, Albertans will be able to view referral information for consults entered in the Netcare eReferral system dated April 26, 2025 and later. Referral information will be viewable through the My Personal Records (MPR) application and will include referral date, referring provider, reason for referral (specialty or sub-specialty), referral statuses and referral status reason.

This is the second release of referral information in MPR and will include all consults that are in the eReferral system. The previous release was for Urology consults only. For a list of participating specialties by referral reason see Referral Reasons and Specialties.

Albertans with an MPR account also have access to MyAHS Connect. The same referral may not be in both systems so patients are encouraged to look in both when looking for referral information.

With this change, patients will have immediate access to more of their own information. Alberta Health is working on making more information available so MPR users can expect to see the available information increase over time.

Physicians and other providers will continue to have access to information through their usual channels, including Alberta Netcare.

To support Albertans, Alberta has created the MyHealth.Alberta website, a trusted source of health information. To access, visit MyHealth.Alberta.ca.

Albertans can also contact MyHealth Records/My Personal Records support at 1-844-401-4016 or via email myhealthrecords@gov.ab.ca.

If calling, Albertans can choose from the menu options to connect to:

The support team for technical assistance between 8:15 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (MT) Monday - Friday (not including national and provincial holidays); or
Health Link - 811 available at all times 24 hours, seven days per week to talk with health professionals about any health-related inquiries including test results.

For more information about the release of referrals information in MPR, please visit myhealth.alberta.ca/Help/KB/using-myhealth-records/for-healthcare-providers

Your well being matters - assess your distress with the new CMPA tool

Practicing medicine in today's health care environment is challenging, and it is crucial to acknowledge the toll that stress can take on your overall well being. The Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) has just launched a new valuable resource that provides an effective way to assess your levels of distress: the Physician Well-Being Index (WBI).

The WBI is a quick, two-minute personalized assessment tool that measures six dimensions of distress and wellness. Developed and validated by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, this anonymous, web-based tool assesses your levels of distress in just a few questions.

Upon completion, the fully bilingual index provides curated Canadian resources to doctors in the language of their choice, specific to a doctor’s province or territory, and is accessible immediately.

Users can monitor their progress and changes to well being over time and compare results as they continue their work toward wellness in their personal and professional lives.

It is pivotal that health care providers have access to reputable wellness tools to support their well being in a time when health care is under immense strain. For additional information on the Well-Being Index, visit the CMPA website.

Thank a colleague through JPAC Shine On Gratitude Program.

The JPAC Shine On Gratitude Program gives physicians the opportunity to thank their colleagues for their acts of kindness, big and small. The process is as quick and easy as sending an email.

Complete the submission form and we will make sure the message gets to the person you want to express your appreciation to.

Section of Associate Physicians

Announcing: The Section of Associate Physicians

Recently, Alberta Health Services renamed the roles of Clinical Assistant and Clinical Surgical Assistant to Associate Physician. AHS made this change after receiving significant feedback from CA/CSAs that their job titles did not accurately reflect the scope and duties of the positions.

Accordingly, the AMA’s Section of Clinical Assistants has now been renamed to the Section of Associate Physicians. This is simply a change in name and will not affect the section membership process or its governance.

This title change is good news. Associate Physician better reflects the scope of work, educational background and training of colleagues formerly known as CAs/CSAs, and it is better aligned with the title of this role in other jurisdictions across Canada.

To reach the Section of Associate Physician President, Dr. Khurram Elahi, please email AMA Section Services.

Section of Diagnostic Imaging

Save the date - Section of Diagnostic Imaging AGM

Date: May 1

Time: 5 p.m.

Venue: Zoom

Agenda package communicated to section members Friday, April 11.

To reach the Section of Diagnostic Imaging President, Dr. Robert Davies, please email AMA Section Services.

Section of Emergency Medicine

Section of Emergency Medicine update

Section executive attended last week’s Specialty Care Alliance meeting and reports that AMA continues to advocate for Acute Care Stabilization money.

A joint statement with the Sections of Pediatrics and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is in the rough draft stages to address the lack funding for residential care for severely ill children with intellectual disability and autism.

To reach the Section of Emergency Medicine President, Dr. Warren Thirsk, please email AMA Section Services.

Section of Infectious Diseases

Save the date - Section of Infectious Diseases AGM

Date: September 7
Time: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.
Venue: Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Room KC 305

Further details to follow.

In accordance with the section's bylaws, the agenda and Zoom link will be communicated to section members no later than 14 days prior to the meeting.

To reach the Section of Infectious Diseases President, Dr. Stuart Rosser, please email AMA Section Services.

Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine

Save the date - Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine AGM

Date: May 21
Time: 6 p.m.
Venue: Zoom

Notice of AGM and proposed bylaw amendments communicated to section members Thursday, April 17.

The agenda package will be communicated to section members no later than May 6.

To reach the Section of Public Health and Preventive Medicine President, Dr. Franco Rizzuti, please email AMA Section Services.

Section of Sport and Exercise Medicine

Notice of AGM April 30 - Section of Sport and Exercise Medicine

The Section of Sport and Exercise Medicine AGM will be held:

Date: April 30
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Zoom

Agenda package communicated to section members Friday, April 11.

To reach the Section of Sport and Exercise Medicine President, Dr. Matt McIsaac, please email AMA Section Services.

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