President's Message: Difficult Choices Through the Looking-Glass …And
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COMMUNICATING WITH PHYSICIANS IN ALBERTA ZONE MEDICAL STAFF ASSOCIATIONS OF ALBERTA May 2015 VITAL SIGNS President’s Message: Difficult Choices Through the Looking-Glass …And What Alberta Found There A new budget. Another election. What will be the health care fall out? “Lean in” Changes in the Central Zone Medical Staff Association The Jaws Of Winter… Workplace Hazards: The Physician’s Perspective 2 3 1 Aspen Landing Crowchild Trail NW Aspen Landing Shopping Centre John Laurie Blvd NW 105, 339 Aspen Glen Landing SW 2 2 Castleridge NE DeerfootTrail Castleridge Plaza McKnight Blvd NE 20, 55 Castleridge Blvd. NE 1 4 3 Crowfoot Sarcee Trail SW Crowfoot Business Centre 16 Avenue NE 401, 400 Crowfoot Cres. NW 1 Memorial Drive 4 Market Mall 6 Market Mall Shopping Centre 10 333, 4935 - 40 Ave. NW 11 9 Ave SE ail SE 5 Mayfair Place 1 Tr 110/132, 6707 Elbow Dr. SW 6 Riley Park MacLeod Riley Park Health Centre Building 2 110, 1402 - 8th Ave. NW SE Trail Deerfoot Glenmore Trail SW 7 South Calgary Health Centre (X-ray only) 105, 31 Sunpark Plaza SE 5 8 Southcentre Southcentre Mall Shopping Centre 177, 100 Anderson Rd. SE 9 Sunpark Anderson Road SW 8 Sunpark Professional Centre 125, 40 Sunpark Plaza SE 10 The CORE The CORE Shopping Centre 417, 751 - 3 St. SW 2 11 Westbrook Sun Valley Blvd SE Westbrook Professional Building 7 200, 1610 - 37 St. SW 9 22X Marquis of Lorne Trail SW Community • X-Ray • Mammography Convenience • Bone Densitometry • Vascular Ultrasound Centre • Image-Guided Pain Therapy • Ultrasound • Ultrasound-Guided Biopsy • Echocardiography • Nuclear Imaging • Myocardial Perfusion Imaging • Exercise Stress Testing Physician Line 403.777.1999 Customer Contact Centre 403.777.3000 radiology.ca A CALGARY & AREA MEDICAL STAFF SOCIETY PUBLICATION May 2015 CAMSS EXECUTIVE – Please feel free to contact your Contents: representative with any concerns or issues. Dr. Steve Patterson, CAMSS and MSA PLC President, 403-205-2093 President’s Message: Difficult Choices ......................................................2 Dr. Sharron Spicer, CAMSS President elect Dr. Charlene Hunter, CAMSS Treasurer and Through the Looking-Glass …And What Alberta Found There ..................3 MSA CLS President Dr. David Kent, RGH MSA President,403-943-3410 A new budget. Another election. Dr. Arlie Fawcett, PLC MSA Vice President, 403-944-9842 What will be the health care fall out? “Lean in”.… .....................................5 Dr. Linda Mrkonjic, FMC MSA President, 403-944-2237 Dr. Warren Yunker, ACH MSA President Changes in the Central Zone Medical Staff Association ............................6 The Jaws Of Winter…. ................................................................................9 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dr. Steve Patterson, CAMSS President Workplace Hazards: The Physician’s Perspective ...................................12 Dr. Kevin Hay, CZMSA Past President Dr. Shelley Duggan, EZMSA President Dr. André van Zyl, CZMSA President Dr. Jean Du Plessis & Dr. Jeremy Beach The CZMSA Election Results Vital Signs accepts advertisements from members and non- The Central Zone Medical Staff Association electronic membership vote members. For advertising rates, please visit: www.CAMSS.ca and download the rates from the Vital Signs page. For more is complete and the 2015 executive has been ratified as follows: information please contact Bob d’Artois, CAMSS advertising director, 403-540-4702 [email protected] President – Dr. Andre van Zyl Vice President – Dr. Alayne Farries Vital Signs is published 11 times annually (not published in Treasurer – August) by the Calgary & Area Medical Staff Society (CAMSS) Dr. Deirdre McLean www.CAMSS.ca Past President – Dr. Kevin Hay EDITOR: Adria Laycraft, [email protected] MANAGING EDITOR: Hellmut Regehr, [email protected] EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Dr. Steve Patterson – [email protected] Dr. Sharron Spicer – [email protected] Audrey Harlow – [email protected] Hellmut Regehr – [email protected] Calgary & Area Medical Staff Society (CAMSS) Save the dates! CAMSS 2015 Meetings 350, 708-11 Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2R 0E4 CAMSS Council meetings may be attended via video conference from the EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: Audrey Harlow 403-205-2093 AMA SAO Conference Room (Suite 350 708 11th Ave SW, Calgary.) SUBMISSIONS: Vital Signs welcomes submissions (articles, notices, letters to the Please email [email protected] to request security access to the room. editors, announcements, photos, etc.) from physicians in Alberta. CAMSS council Please limit articles to 600 words or less. | Please send any contributions to: Spindrift Design Studio Inc. May 13, 2015 ACH 07 – 5:30-8:30 pm Hellmut Regehr, [email protected] Vital Signs reserves the right to edit article submissions and CAMSS AGM letters to the editor. June 10, 2015 | Location TBA – 5:30-9:00 pm The deadline for article submissions for the next CAMSS council issue of Vital Signs is May 15, 2015. September 9, 2015 | ACH 01 – 5:30-8:30 pm CONTRIBUTORS: The opinions expressed in Vital Signs do not necessarily reflect CAMSS ZAF the opinions or positions of CAMSS or CAMSS executive. October 14, 2015 | Room 1003, 10301 Southport Lane SW – 5:30-8:30 pm ADVERTISING: Claims made in advertisements are not verified by CAMSS and CAMSS AGM CAMSS assumes no responsibility for advertising accuracy. November 11, 2015 | Location TBA – 5:30-9:00 pm © 2015 CAMSS council December 9, 2015 | ACH 01 – 5:30-8:30 pm ZMSAs – Communicating With Physicians in Alberta 2 President’s Message: Difficult Choices Well here it is: a provincial election. We have heard announcements about a new Cancer Centre for Calgary (first announced in 2005), as well as a versatile fifty million dollar announcement on March 11th covering five emergency departments in both Calgary and Edmonton. Despite the budgetary restraints, we have a number of new infrastructure projects. The most pertinent question is not how we can afford the buildings but how we can afford to staff them. The Health Services budget of 18.9 billion and no full time employees were to be laid programs in Alberta to be targeted. Physicians dollars is 160 million dollars less than last off. In July 2014, the current CEO reported will be asked to make changes, and to do more year. This will need to include wage increases to the Committee on Public Accounts that with less. Ideas to improve patient care and cre- expected to total 2.9% (wages are at least 350 of the original 550 positions had been ate more efficient systems have been solicited. 70% of healthcare spending), an anticipated eliminated through attrition and a reduc- We as working physicians have the best vantage 2% increase in utilization, and the planned tion in overtime hours. These changes have point to see how improvements can be made elimination of hospital deficits ($50 million resulted in a savings of 30 million dollars so and how changes can affect patient care. We in Calgary alone). This adds up to at least a far from a projected reduction of 43 million cannot allow quality of care to be sacrificed 5% reduction in healthcare spending, with- dollars. The HCM report on managerial on the altar of clinical efficiency. The AMA is out incorporating funding for new facilities efficiency planned for a reduction of 70 man- at the forefront of this push for efficient effec- and long term care beds. The most important agement staff positions in Newfoundland. tive care with the Toward Optimized Practice question in health care today is how Alberta So far, two years later, 40 of these positions (TOPS) and the Choosing Wisely initiatives. Health Services and CEO Vickie Kaminski have been eliminated. The Newfoundland We have seen changes in Vitamin D testing and will deal with this reduction in spending. benchmarking reports on clinical efficiency we will see changes in low back pain imaging are not available at this time.3 as a result of these programs. There are more The best predictor of future behaviour is changes to come. past behaviour. Ms. Kaminski was CEO of Alberta has the same CEO, and has hired the Sudbury Regional Hospital from 2001- the same benchmarking firm. I would expect I urge physicians to speak out about the issues 2009. The province of Ontario instituted a recommendations justifying similar reduc- affecting patient care in Alberta. The best time process called benchmarking for its major tions in AHS expenditures. Ms. Kaminski to be heard is now, during an election campaign. hospitals. Benchmarking is a process that has already pledged that no reduction is All political parties will be listening. compares how resources for patient care planned for front line staff, and that some are allocated in different hospitals. Nurs- of the planned job cuts will occur through FOOTNOTES ing hours, overtime hours, equipment use, attrition. Newfoundland’s Eastern Health 1 Operational Review of Sudbury Regional and management hours are measured and did keep their promise not to lay-off full Hospital, November 1, 2002 2 related to patient days or emergency visits. In time staff, but they reduced overtime hours CBC News Posted: May 29, 2012 1:58 PM NT Last Updated: May 29, 2012 6:41 PM Sudbury Regional Hospital, benchmarking and temporary staffing. Ms. Kaminski stated 3 Province of Newfoundland, Proceedings of was performed by the firm Canadian Health- in her March 26 response to the Alberta the Standing Committee on Public Accounts care Management starting in 2002.1 In 2009, provincial budget that reduction in overtime July 24, 2014 Issue 3 Ms. Kaminski moved to Newfoundland to hours was one of her goals. become the CEO of Eastern Health (formed when seven regional boards amalgamated in What does this mean 2004). She employed the firm Health Care for Alberta? Management Group (HCM) to benchmark My first impression is that Ms. Kaminski has a the acute care sector of Eastern Health. In track record of effective management. We are 2012 HCM released their report on “opera- fortunate to have her as our CEO.