The Press Gallery interview: Deputy premier Sarah Hoffman

What are Sarah Hoffman’s thoughts about healthcare in Alberta – wait times, medical aid in dying, funding, level of care, compassion? To find out, you may wish to listen to a recent Edmonton Journal: The Press Gallery interview: Sarah Hoffman.

Health Canada Is Seeking Your Input

Health Canada is modernizing its approach to disclosing clinical information on drugs and medical devices to support advances in medical science and help improve patient care. Today, Health Canada published draft regulations in Canada Gazette l that propose to make clinical information in drug and medical device submissions publicly available after the Department has completed its regulatory review process.

Click here to continue reading.

Last Day: Patient Voices Wanted

Canada Health Infoway will be hosting the 2017 Infoway Partnership Conference: Connecting for Digital Health, on November 14-15, 2017, in Calgary. The focus of the conference will be to explore and recognize the effect that digital health is having in the lives of Canadians.

In addition to health care leaders and people in the healthcare profession, Canada Health Infoway is seeking to bring patients to the table to discuss opportunities, challenges and solutions concerning health care delivery in Canada. Click here to read about the Patient Scholarships that are available. Deadline for scholarship applications is July 5, 2017.

Better Healthcare for Albertans


Late last week, the Office of the Auditor General of Alberta released a report on integrated healthcare in Alberta. The report, entitled “Better Healthcare for Albertans,” raises many important issues as well as highlights some important work being done, including by the Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs). If you have not already read the report, you may wish to do so.

Call for Participants!

The Patient and Community Engagement Research (PaCER) Program at the University of Calgary is seeking participants for a project they are working on with the Cancer Strategic Clinical Network. This project will focus on breast health education supports available to patients. If you or someone you know underwent breast cancer surgery within the last two years, this is a project you may find of interest. Click here for more information.

Let Your Voice Be Heard


On Tuesday, February 28th, Red Deer doctors held a public meeting to discuss the deficiencies at the Red Deer Regional Hospital.and the impact they were having on patients and the care they received. In 2014, there was a plan to address these issues, which included redeveloping the hospital. However, in late 2016, Alberta Health Services removed this redevelopment plan from its list of priorities. This they did even though the Red Deer Regional Hospital is the fourth busiest in the province, is in need of “96 more admitting beds, 8 more emergency room beds and three more operating rooms.” In a notice issued by the doctors, “‘If you find the treatment of central Albertans by policy-makers and government unacceptable and unfair, let your voice be heard.'” Click here to read more.

Canada Offers A Healing Hand

In the wake of President Trump’s recent travel ban, which prohibits individuals from seven countries from entering the United States, Canada has extended a helping hand. In particular, recognizing that some of these banned individuals are children requiring medical attention, these children may be obtaining the treatment they require in Canada. 

As Eric Hoskins, Ontario’s Health Minister, states:

“Canada is a country that has always looked into ways it could reach out and support vulnerable people around the world.”
(Canada Will Offer Healthcare To Critically Ill Children Affected By Trump’s Muslim Ban)

We Talked – Bell Let’s Talk Day

The Bell Let’s Talk Day generated 122,150,772 tweets, texts, calls and shares, which is a new record. This, in turn, will see Bell donating $6,107,538.60 to mental health. Although the official Let’s Talk Day has passed, the conversation must continue. As Ian Mendes states in his recent tweet,

Alberta Man Seeks Answers

What was supposed to be a joyous and memorable day for Belal Hossain and his family turned out to be much different.  Shortly after giving birth to their third child, Belal’s wife died.  There are many questions surrounding this event, with the primary one being, “How could this happen?”  Click here to read the full story.