EDMONTON – A group of family physicians in Health Minister Fred Horne’s riding of Edmonton-Rutherford has sent an open letter to area patients, warning them about changes that may result from the government’s imposed compensation plan for doctors.
Brian McPeak, a family doctor at Dominion Medical Centre in the Century Park neighbourhood, said he decided to send the letter to push patients to write to Horne in protest of the fee deal.
“We’re in a unique position, where our patients also are the minister’s constituents. As he’s an elected MLA, we wanted to make our patients aware of the situation, that they can make change to advocate for their own care.”
The letter is also on the Alberta Medical Association’s website.
The government decided to impose the new fee plan on the province’s doctors two weeks ago, saying there was an impasse in negotiations with the AMA. The health ministry said the plan will add $463 million to doctors’ bottom line, but physicians say it will mean $210 million in cuts over the next five years. McPeak said the letter emphasizes doctors mainly take issue with the “autocratic” imposition of the deal and the exclusion of the AMA in planning for the province’s new family care clinics.
“The media coverage to date, including the advertising campaign by the government recently, could give people the misperception that physicians’ objections to the minister’s impositions relate to fees, which isn’t the case. Our objection relates more to autocratic decision to restructure. We have great fears patient care will be affected,” he said.
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The letter details several proposed service cuts, including an end to the Physician Office System Program, which helped fund the switch to electronic medical records in clinics, and the Retention Benefit Program, put in place to attract doctors to the province. It also includes a warning that doctors expect primary care networks to be cut, even though continued funding for the networks is part of the province’s new plan.
“Please recognize that it’s speculative, in that regard, but it is widely anticipated that a lot of the resources required to implement family care clinics will come from other services including primary care networks,” McPeak said.
Horne said he was surprised to receive the letter, which he said was misleading.
“First of all, the government has made no decisions with respect to changing any fee codes. We’re setting up a process with the AMA to do this work jointly.”
He also said the province increased funding to primary care networks last year and has no plans to stop funding them.
“In terms of primary health care, we had been in discussions with the AMA about discontinuing the retention benefit program and business cost program that cost about $20 million,” he said. “We want to talk to the AMA and family physicians about how we can re-allocate those dollars into how they can better support family doctors.”
The letter has been signed by 27 physicians in the riding. McPeak said he was unable to reach a few on short notice, but most doctors he has spoken with want the government to return to the table. Since the announcement two weeks ago, the province’s general surgeons released an open letter in opposition to the deal, and physicians considered donating a day’s pay to either opposition parties or charity.
“It does seem to be a fairly universal opinion. The minister’s imposition in my experience has galvanized the medical profession in a way that‘s been unprecedented in my 17 years of practice,” McPeak said.
Dr. Michael Giuffre, president of the Alberta Medical Association, said in an email he will meet Thursday with Horne. Giuffre plans to tell Horne the AMA rejects the imposed plan and wants the minister to agree to a Dec. 31 deadline to start new negotiations as well as a binding dispute resolution process. He said he has also sent a letter echoing these demands.
Horne said he’s optimistic the province and the AMA can resume negotiations Thursday.
“I’m hopeful that it will be a good meeting,” he said.
Giuffre also has an emergency meeting set up with the Edmonton Medical Zone Staff Association Thursday evening.
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