August 2008 message

For health services in our province, it is very much a time of new beginnings.

Recently, the regional boards were replaced with a single governance board that is responsible for overseeing the entire health system in Alberta.

The mission of Alberta Health Services, as it is now known, is clear: to provide a patient-focused health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.

Every Albertan deserves equitable access to health care services - to acute care, to wellness services, and to preventative health initiatives. Whether they live in the far north, the far south, in an urban setting or a rural one, every man, woman and child in this province must be able to get the care they need when they need it. We act in trust on their behalf, and every decision made going forward must place their interest first and foremost.

Since May, we have established a health leadership team, drawing from across the province, to help guide this new structure. This team will build on the excellence in health care that already exists in the province. It will create the connections and relationships vital to a system that is integrated and coordinated, and that will provide easy and consistent access to services for all Albertans.

My role in the new organizational structure is chair of the Alberta Health Services Board, which also includes six members from across the province. In conjunction with the Minister of Health, we have begun the process to fill the remaining board positions. We have a Chief Executive Officer, and a provincial management team which is structured around four portfolios: Continuum of Care, Planning and Programs, Corporate Services, and Financial Services.

The key priority for all of these groups is to think provincially while providing effective services at the local level. Their work and the sharing of innovation and expertise are no longer going to be constrained by imaginary lines on the map of Alberta.

I'll give you an example.

Approximately three years ago, a new way of providing services to individuals needing hip and knee care was piloted in three health regions in our province. This hip and knee replacement project tested a new care path for patients. It engaged a team of health professionals, guiding patients from the assessment and pre-surgery stage through to recovery and rehabilitation.

Allow me to share with you the results, as measured in wait times:

Wait Time from referral to first Orthopaedic Consult:

• Conventional: 145 working days average
• New way: 21 days (15% of the original wait time; i.e. wait time cut by 85%!)

Wait Time from first Orthopaedic Consult to surgery:

• Conventional way: 290 working days
• New way: 37 working days (13% of the wait time; i.e. wait time cut by 87%)

This initiative came about because creative people looked at an existing program and tackled it from a fresh perspective. It has been a great success.

We want this kind of improvement to be the standard of care goal for all Albertans for hip and knee replacements!

The new care path for hips and knees is now being rolled out across Alberta. And we want this method to be applied to other specialties, such as Cardiology, as well.

Another example? Primary care networks are also built on a team approach that dramatically improves access to patient care. Those involved in the network teams say it is a model that makes sense. It supports the physicians, who are often the first point of contact for people in need of health care, and simplifies that care for patients and providers alike.

This initiative, too, will have clear benefits all across the province.

Our goal is straight forward:

We will build the best health care system in the world. It's as simple as that.

We will build our new system on the foundation in place today, which frankly is already good by any objective standard. However, there are always opportunities to improve. We will work together to shorten wait times, and to improve access to primary care, mental health resources, wellness and preventative health initiatives. We will build on the momentum of the research and leadership cultivated here in Alberta.

We will attract world class researchers here to augment the delivery of health care for the benefit of all Albertans. We will build a health care system which is efficient and effective - one that can be financially sustained through the decades to come as aging boomers start to draw more on health care resources.

I'd like to invite you to stay informed and involved as the Alberta Health Services re-organization evolves, and to use the contact form on the Alberta Health Services website to provide feedback in the months to come. Your perspectives are critical to shaping a system that is effective and sustainable, and I hope you will offer them.