We are the AMA - Alberta Medical Association

to improve communication and processesaround pharmacist prescribing. The intentwas to use the first meeting to buildconsensus for moving forward, but thatobjective has not yet been reached.59. The Board of Directors discussed how toaddress pharmacist prescribing and scopeof practice issues in general at the 2013board retreat in May. Resolutions relatingto scope of practice were tabled by Albertadelegates and passed at the CanadianMedical Association General Councilmeeting August 19-21 in Calgary.60. The College and Association of RegisteredNurses of Alberta has a proposal to expandthe scope of practice to allow registerednurses with extra training to prescribeSchedule One drugs, limited to theirdemonstrated expertise within a certaingeographic location. This expanded scopewould allow them to diagnose within thatscope of practice.61. We are still awaiting government’s decisionon a major proposal from optometryregarding an expansion to scope of practicefor that profession. The AMA made apresentation in late 2012 to the HealthProfessions Advisory Board to expressserious concerns about the safety andefficacy of the optometry proposals.Physician and Family Support Program andHealth Law Institute62. The AMA and the Physician and FamilySupport Program (PFSP) staff have beeninvolved in lengthy discussions with theCollege of Physicians & Surgeons ofAlberta (CPSA) on how to operationalizerecommendations arising from a June 2012report from the Health Law Institute (HLI).The HLI was retained by the parties to helpexplore and resolve difference of opinionwith respect to standards of practice aroundduty to report impairment. Members mayrecall that CPSA had proposed changing thestandards to require reporting of suspectedvs. demonstrated impairment for oneself ora colleague. While some issues have beenresolved, some outstanding issues remainaround logistics for a proposed review panel.We appreciate the ongoing dialogue.Other negotiations63. Groups of physicians and individuals cameto the AMA again this year seeking supportin various negotiations and contracts. Theassociation supported ongoing and newdiscussions for: cancer care physicians;laboratory physicians, physicians billingWorkers’ Compensation Board (WCB);Alberta Orthopedic Society and others.AMA staff also continue to assist withrequests from individual physicians toreview their individual service contracts.64. New agreements between the AlbertaSociety of Laboratory Physicians and AHS,and cancer care physicians and AHS, werecompleted, ratified and are now in place.AdvocacyHealth issues65. Health Issues Council (HIC) continuesto discuss and advance a variety ofhealth advocacy issues. Additionally, HICimplemented the second year of the Emerging20