December 2, 2025

In this issue:

Welcoming newly elected SCA Chair and Deputy Chair

Message from the SCA Chair and Deputy Chair

AMA’s connection to government, agencies and change management

New ACTT offerings

CII adoption for specialists

PSASC update

2025 Fall SCF highlights

Connect Care update

Canadian Conference on Physician Health highlights

Welcoming newly elected SCA Chair and Deputy Chair

On October 28, the Specialty Care Alliance (SCA) Executive elected two new leaders for the November 2025 – October 2026 term.

SCA Chair, Dr. Joe Bergman, an SCA executive member since 2023 brings a unique perspective to the role, as an upper extremity orthopedic surgeon and biomedical engineer. He has a particular interest in health system design, especially as it relates to resource constrained environments.

SCA Deputy Chair, Dr. Rajesh Narula is a community-based general internal medicine specialist and hospitalist and the current Vice President of the South Zone Medical Staff Association. He brings a special interest in preventive medicine, chronic disease management and geriatric care.

Dr. Bertus Eksteen transitions into the role of SCA Past Chair after exceptional terms as Chair from 2023 to 2025 and Deputy Chair from 2021 to 2023. His steadfast leadership and advocacy for Alberta’s specialists will have a lasting impact. We thank Dr. Eksteen for his past contributions and look forward to his continued support in the new role!

Message from the SCA Chair and Deputy Chair

Dear Colleagues,

As the newly elected Chair and Deputy Chair of the SCA, we want to ensure that the specialist voice is strong and heard clearly within the AMA. As significant system changes are underway, including Dual Practice and other recent government actions, this is a critical time for us to work together and advocate effectively.

Over the next few months, we plan to reach out to each of the sections individually to discuss your concerns, see where common interests lie within specialty medicine and explore how these shared priorities can be advanced.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to the SCA inbox with your thoughts and concerns. Your input helps us better represent you and address issues that matter most to our specialty community.

Thank you for all you do for patients and for our profession.

- SCA Chair, Dr. Joe Bergman and SCA Deputy Chair, Dr. Rajesh Narula

AMA's connection to government, agencies and change management

As the refocusing of Alberta’s health care system continues, the AMA is expanding physician leadership and positioning itself to work with the newly formed provincial agencies. Strategic changes have been made to better support, amplify and align our collective voice.

This multi-level engagement model will help ensure that physician perspectives are meaningfully represented in system design and policy, and that the AMA is a trusted voice in health system reform.

The AMA’s new Physician Workforce and Resource Stewardship branch will deliver change management support for emerging health system initiatives.

The branch is led by Executive Vice President Dr. Jennifer Bestard—a position intentionally reserved for a physician. Dr. Bestard, a neurologist from Red Deer, is supported by five Medical Directors. Each Medical Director is aligned with a specific pillar of care and will serve as the AMA’s primary medical liaison to their corresponding government counterpart.

The branch will be supported by AMA’s Accelerating Change Transformation Team (ACTT) which continues to provide tools, resources and learning for physicians and teams:

Helping teams to optimize their clinics
Equipping physicians to lead improvements
Creating capacity for continuous advancement
Collaborating with experts to share, test and implement new ideas, technology and models

New ACTT offerings

Digital Health Innovation Series - AI in Practice: Tools That Work
December 4 Webinar

Thinking about AI but not sure where to start? The best time to future proof your practice is now! Attend session #2 of our new Series, with host, Dr. Trevor Day and three clinician experts who are pioneering AI use in Canadian health care.

SESSION SPEAKERS

Dr Muhammed Mamdani - one of Canada’s most influential voices in AI and medicine
Dr. Jake Hayward - an ER physician and clinician-scientist in Edmonton
Dr. Mike Weldon - bringing emergency medicine and electrical engineering to the forefront of AI integration

This session will spotlight practical applications of innovative and high-impact tools designed to reduce administrative burden and improve patient care that are being utilized across the country today. Register today

New Team-based Care Resources and Learning Opportunities

Gain valuable insights and strategies for improving collaboration, communication and performance with AMA-ACTT's new Team-based Care tools:

Team-Based Care Change Package
Team Assessment and Facilitator Guide
Debrief Guide

More resources are on the way, including a new Learn@AMA training curriculum launching next year.

Leveraging Group Medical Visits to Enhance Care Delivery
December 2 Webinar

Join Dr. Divya Garg and Dr. Emma Billington for an interactive session with practice-tested examples from the ‘Own Your Bones’ program. Learn how the care program was developed and has improved the delivery of group medical visits within the Patient’s Medical Home. Register today

CII adoption for specialists: PPHS grant expires Spring 2026

Community-based specialist physicians have a powerful way to streamline communication and improve patient care. Community Information Integration (CII) enables you to send consult reports directly to Alberta Netcare from your private office EMR.

This simple solution reduces administrative burden and duplicate referrals, while supporting better collaboration across the health care system. Join the growing community of specialists leveraging CII to make care more connected and effective with the support of PPHS grant funding.

Why sign up now?

Acceleration Grant funding – up to $2,000 for eligible physicians who go live before March 31, 2026.
Free, secure and efficient – share clinical insights with other providers involved in your patients’ care.
You stay in control – decide what consult information is shared to Netcare.

Don’t delay - explore CII eligibility and enrol before funding runs out! Contact AMA-ACTT to get started.

Provincial Specialty Access Steering Committee (PSASC) update

Explore the latest from FAST, Alberta's Pathway Hub and Specialty Advice. This monthly report includes information about key initiatives, performance metrics, zone-level data, as well as risks and issues.

Report link: Specialty Access Update September 2025

2025 Fall Specialty Care Forum (SCF) highlights

The 2025 Fall SCF in Edmonton brought together specialty care RF representatives, AMA Board members and other AMA interest holders to discuss work being done by the SCA and new developments impacting specialty care physicians in Alberta.

Connect Care Update

Dr. Jeremy Theal, AHS Chief Medical Information Officer presented detailed findings on the Connect Care user experience and an action plan to address efficiency and other areas for improvement. Scroll down to read more about the latest survey results.

System Restructuring

Alberta’s health system has transitioned into four ministries/provincial health agencies and seven regional health corridors, impacting planning and representation.
Proposed changes to AMA’s Representative Forum were presented to align with new corridor structure, aiming for improved rural representation and engagement.

Advocacy & Initiatives

Updates on negotiations, compensation, physician wellness and equity initiatives.
Progress on electronic referral solutions and specialty access steering committees.

Connect Care survey results and Conversation with Prescribers

The AMA SCA Chair and Chief Medical Information Office (CMIO), Prescriber Experience and Medical Informatics hosted an online conversation for prescribers on October 9, 2025. The session addressed:

Results of the 2025 Connect Care user surveys from SCA and AHS
Progress made since the last AMA and AHS user surveys in 2023
Action plan for Connect Care optimization based on 2025 survey results
- Addressing administrative burden
- Optimizing workflows and reducing duplication
- Enhanced training and technical support

Hospitalists also have access to Connect Quality, an initiative from the Chief Medical Information Office (CMIO) team at Alberta Health Services that offers resources, training and tools. Designed to empower prescribers and elevate care, these Connect Care supports can also be used to fulfill Physician Practice Improvement Program (PPIP) requirements.

Canadian Conference on Physician Health (CCPH) highlights

CCPH was held October 17 - 18, 2025, in Vancouver under the theme, “creating a stronger health care system – where both physicians and patients trust in care”. On behalf of the SCA, Dr. Michel Sauve attended the conference and shared these key insights:

The conference spotlighted system-level drivers of physician well-being and practical fixes. Data showed administrative burden remains a leading irritant, while a positive work-life balance emerged as the single strongest determinant of well-being - measured at roughly five times the weight of the next factors which included, professional fulfilment, patient-initiated abuse/expectations and resourcing.

Speakers emphasized shifting from individual resilience to organizational interventions through better tech integration, leadership pathways and resources and building community supports with team coaching, lounges and social engagement funds.

Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) highlighted its Well-Being Index and peer supports for physicians experiencing medico-legal stress, underscoring the link between medico-legal events and elevated distress and suicidal ideation.

The next international physician-health conference, co-hosted by the Canadian Medical Association with the American Medical Association and British Medical Association is set for Sept 28 to 30, 2026 in London, UK. Their call for abstracts is live with registration opening in June. Learn more.