After months of negotiations, the Alberta Medical Association and Alberta Health have reached a tentative agreement.
The AMA said the agreement in principle was reached through negations that started in December and “were not without challenges.”
“Building on the innovations of the 2016 Amending Agreement, the tentative agreement addresses budgetary concerns of the province while recognizing the contributions and stewardship of physicians so far,” AMA president Dr. Neil Cooper said in a media release on Monday.
“It provides stability for important programs and initiatives and enhances the ability of members to access representation by the AMA. It also paves the way for new initiatives that drive toward the high-performing health system that the board has defined in our vision statement.”
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Details of the deal were not released on Monday, as the tentative agreement will need to be ratified by both parties.
“We’re very pleased to reach this agreement-in-principle with the Alberta Medical Association,” Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said in a statement Monday.
“By working with doctors, we have reached a common sense agreement that will further stabilize health spending and strengthen our work with physicians in improving patient care. We won’t be speaking to the details out of respect for the AMA’s ratification process, but are hopeful it will be ratified by AMA members.”
The AMA’s board of directors will now consult with the “representative forum” at a meeting to be held on May 3. Based on the forum’s recommendations, the tentative agreement package will be sent to AMA members for a vote.
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