December 12, 2024

In this issue:

• 2024/2025 holiday claim processing and payment schedule
• WCB reporting terminology update
• Sign up for Access training notifications and forget about it until 2025!
• Changes to normal cancer screening results letters for patients
• AHS Updates:
  • Active health advisories
  • New provincial non-gynecological cytopathology requisition
  • Reminder to review referral pathways: Multi-specialty FAST launched December 2
  • Canada Post strike impact on AHS diagnostic imaging appointments
• MD Financial
  • 2024 year-end tax planning tips for physicians
• Community Connections
  • Survey on primary care medical office assistant's role
  • Thoughts of harm knowledge study

2024/2025 holiday claim processing and payment schedule

Information on this year's holiday claim processing and payment schedule for fee-for-service physicians can be found in Alberta Health's bulletin Gen 152.

Read the full article for more information, including key dates for fee-for-service physicians and ARP physicians. 

For information on all after-hours billings from December 2024 - December 2025, please see the Billing Tip on the AMA website.

WCB reporting terminology update

Based on feedback received, effective December 2, WCB case conference terminology on all applicable physician reporting will be amended from 'request case conference' to 'physician to physician call' (see example pdf). This amendment will add transparency around the purpose of the request.

Questions? Here are your WCB contacts who can help!

Sheena Warsi
Health Care Consultant
780-498-7447 

Jerrett Dewalt
Health Care Performance Specialist
780-498-4512 

John Rose
Business Assistant
780-498-3251

Sign up for Access training notifications and forget about it until 2025!

New AMA-ACTT Access training is launching early in 2025. The programming will offer strategies to support timely access to care for your patients. 

Sign up to be notified about readiness activities and when training goes live. Then, relax over your holiday break knowing you’re all set for when Access training is available next year.

Changes to normal cancer screening results letters for patients

With the provincial electronic health record, Alberta Health Services' screening programs can now transition some of our personalized print-based normal results letters to electronic notification. This change is for Albertans with a MyAHS Connect (MAC) account. MAC is available to all MyHealth Records users and offers patients personalized, timely and secure access to their online health records. 

Normal cervical (Pap test) and colorectal (Fecal Immunochemical Test/FIT) cancer screening result letters will no longer be mailed to Albertans who have a MAC account. MAC allows for quick and easy access to results in real time. 

Albertans who do not have a MAC account will still receive normal result letters by mail. There is no change to abnormal result letters – those will continue to be mailed. 

Please continue to follow-up with patients when clinically necessary. Albertans with a MAC account will see screening reminders on their homepage when they access their records. We also encourage you to remind patients when they are due for cancer screening. 

For more information about screening, visit screeningforlife.ca.

AHS Updates

The following AHS updates have been provided for your information: 

• Active health advisories
• New provincial non-gynecological cytopathology requisition 
• Reminder to review referral pathways: Multi-specialty FAST launched December 2

2024 year-end tax planning tips for physicians

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Community Connections

Survey on primary care medical office assistant's role

Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) working in primary care are invited to complete a one-time, confidential 20-minute survey that will help researchers to understand their experiences working in primary care clinics. This survey is part of national research focusing on the MOAs role. 

Please share this survey with your MOAs and encourage them to complete it by the December 31, 2024 deadline.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Carrie.Sherlock@albertadoctors.org. 

Thoughts of harm knowledge study

Are you a health care provider who sees pregnant and/or postpartum patients in your practice? The UBC Perinatal Anxiety Research Lab is seeking to learn about your knowledge and management practices for postpartum thoughts of infant-related harm through the completion of a short, anonymous online questionnaire. Interested in supporting graduate research on postpartum mental health? Please complete the survey. 

This study has been approved by the University of British Columbia Behavioural Research Ethics Board (H24-01015).

Promoting a local charitable health-related event? 

Recruiting physicians and medical learners for a medical study? 

Seeking AMA member participation in a survey? 

The AMA receives many requests to promote local events, research participation opportunities and surveys to our members. We consider all requests based on specific criteria and general relevance/appropriateness. Please note that, unless explicitly stated, the AMA is not associated with or responsible for items listed in Community Connections.

In case you missed it...

Apply for CMA leadership opportunities starting in 2025. Deadline is December 31. 

Deadline to apply for the 2024-25 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex/AMA Medical Student Bursary is January 12, 2025. 

Physicians needed to interview applicants for the U of A Doctor of Medicine Program

Upcoming events

Common Fractures and Dislocations Course

January 23 

26th Annual Anesthesia for GP Anesthesiologists Conference

January 24 

41st Annual Emergency Medicine for Rural Hospitals

January 24 - 26

View all upcoming events on the AMA website.

Have an event you'd like to promote?

Review our criteria and submit your event.

Recognition Roundup

Recommend a special date.

Last issue's top stories

AHS Updates 

Physician Recruitment and Retention Support Program (PRRSP) has launched

In the December 12
MD Scope Classifieds
you'll find listings for:
 

- Physicians wanted

- Locums wanted

- For sale or lease
- Services

More AMA publications

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