The Alberta Medical Association (AMA) wants to keep Albertans talking about health care during the election, forcing government to take notice.
A series of advertisements rolled out in Alberta newspapers late last month seeking public input about issues in the health-care system.
"We talked about advocacy for the organization and for health care for almost a year," said Dr. Linda Slocombe, president of the AMA. "We want to have our advocacy going on prior to an election, during an election and after an election."
The ads include the following phrases: "Health care needs your voice," "We're not waiting to reduce wait times," "What are your ideas for improving access to family doctors?" and "Who do you want looking at your personal health information?"
At the end of March, Alberta's chief electoral officer Brian Fjeldheim cautioned the AMA that these advertisements could violate provincial legislation which restricts political advertising by a third party.
He requested the organization review the legislation and immediately cease and desist the campaign if it was in violation, or risk facing penalties.
The AMA board of directors decided in early April to continue publishing the advertisements.
"We obviously disagree with the stance that it is political and we have not heard back from the chief electoral officer at this point in time," Slocombe said, adding the AMA consulted lawyers before going ahead with the campaign.
Elections Alberta did not return phone calls before press time.
Unpromising promises
With health care being a top election issue for many Albertans, political parties are taking notice and reflecting concerns in their platforms.
The most contentious issue for the AMA is the Progressive Conservative announcement to create 140 family care clinics (FCCs) after the opening of three pilot projects just weeks prior.
"The pilot projects were prior to the election, so we had concerns with that and then to have this announcement of 140 is definitely concerning given that we already have Primary Care Networks," Slocombe said.
In her April 5 President's Letter, she said the creation of the FCCs goes against a Health Quality Council of Alberta recommendation, which advocated having "clear rationale" and a transition plan before taking major steps to restructure the health-care system.
"There is real concern around the potential for disintegration of the system, competition, no continuity with care, fragmentation, just a lot of issues," she said.
An agreement in principle reached between the AMA and the Alberta government in mid-March, which has yet to be finalized, included a clause allowing the AMA to be consulted in the decision-making process for issues affecting primary care.
Slocombe said the AMA was not consulted regarding the design or implementation of the three pilot projects, but was supposed to be consulted in their evaluation — something that has yet to take place, as the FCCs are still less than a month old.
"One of the big issues is that to go ahead with the 140 (FCCs) in three years when you haven't actually evaluated the three pilot projects, it doesn't make any sense," she said.
A main concern for her is that this announcement is not building off the services already offered in the health-care system and, instead, is creating a completely separate system.
The agreement in principle included an increase in funding to Primary Care Networks (PCNs), from $50 per patient to $62 per patient. Funding for each FCC is set at $5 million annually — a number far greater than what is received by PCNs, Slocombe said.
As to whether this announcement will affect the working relationship the AMA has with the government, Slocombe said that has yet to be determined.
"I'm gong to wait and see who the government is in a week," she said.
