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December 22, 2022 NPAA Executive Update

Happy Holidays from your NPAA Board!

As we approach the holiday season, we are sending you wishes for joy and peace and time with family and friends. 

The board continues to work hard to optimize advocacy, advance continuing education, and to plan for the future of NPs in Alberta.

WCB 

No updates: If there are any NPs struggling with the new billing system, please notify us by emailing secretary@albertanps.com.  

Alberta Health   

We continue to be in contact with the Minister of Health and Assistant Deputy Minister and their departments regarding full integration of NPs in primary care and direct reimbursement. The NPAA held a social at the Legislature in late November where many MLAs and government officials including the Minister attended. There were good conversations, but we have still not received any word about direct reimbursement. We expect that there will be an offer presented in early 2023.

The NPAA Executive has prepared a submission for the Modernizing Alberta Primary Care Strategy (MAPS) led by Alberta Health. This will be submitted by the end of December. The intent of the submission is to again highlight the solution to the primary care access crisis that NPs can bring through direct reimbursement and NP clinics, as well as further integration of NPs into emergency departments and other environments. 

CRNA 

We continue to meet with our NP representative for CRNA monthly. The NPAA has put forward a request for information about NPAA membership to be provided to NP registrants and we continue to work with AAN and AUNP related to membership costing. 

Tracking Prescribing Program (TPP)

A NP representative has now been elected to this committee. The next meeting is scheduled for January 2023. 

Alberta Association of Nurses (AAN) and others

The NPAA and AAN were involved in a strategic planning initiative alongside the Alberta Association of Primary Care Nurses (AAPCN) and the Alberta College of Family Physicians (ACFP). These collaborative meetings have resulted in all four organizations being invited to participate on the Primary Care Advisory Panel (PCA). This is a significant change and one that the NPAA is very excited about. Our first meeting as members of the PCA is in January 2023. 

AUNP 

The AUNP and NPAA boards are now fully separated. The AUNP is in negotiation for NPs employed by AHS whilst the focus and mission of the NPAA continues to be overall advocacy with government, continuing education, and research. 

Debt ownership was assigned to the AUNP in February of 2022; repayment to NPAA will begin once a contract has been negotiated with AHS. Anyone with questions regarding NPAA’s contributions to the establishment of AUNP is encouraged to reach out to president@albertanps.com

Provincial Nurse Practitioner Advisory Council (PNAC)

The NPAA executive continue to be part of PNAC and meet monthly. Because of negotiations for NPs within AHS and the NPAAs advocacy work specific to primary care, efforts have been focused on continuing the momentum on these huge projects. 

AHS continues to work in partnership with CRNA and NPAA to change the rules governing AISH Medicals (Part B). No updates about this work are available at this time.

Connect Care Wave 6 starts in January. 

RhPAP

The President and Director Rural/Remote participated in the RhPAP annual conference talking with rural representatives about healthcare access and NP practice. Several communities have voted and passed ‘resolutions’ which have been presented to government requesting NP integration and direct reimbursement for the benefit of rural Albertans. 

Susan and Jennifer have also presented at the RMA conference in Edmonton to a collection of over 300 rural representatives. Out of that presentation, another resolution was passed with 98% approval for NP integration and direct reimbursement for NPs for rural communities. Again, the government has not responded to these resolutions. 

Jennifer continues to be in direct contact with rural communities wanting NPs. If there are NPs that are interested in working autonomously in rural areas of Alberta outside of the PCN, the NPAA executive would be interested in hearing from you. Please contact president@albertanps.com

NPAC (Nurse Practitioner Association of Canada)

Meetings continue to occur monthly (except for November) and there is great sharing and collaborative planning across the country specific to NP integration, autonomous practice, equitable reimbursement and addressing the primary care and emergency department crises. 

The NPAC participated in a meet and greet with Dr. Leigh Chapman, Chief Nurse for the Government of Canada, where issues and barriers specific to NP practice were discussed. Today, Dec 22, Leigh and Stan (President of NPAC) are meeting with the administrators of the Canada Health Act to begin discussion on legislative changes specific to the NP role, capacity, integration and barriers. 

NPAC continues to work on issues with insurance companies from a national standpoint. 

The NPAA has initiated a ‘working group’ of NP association executive members from across the country. Focus of this work is to present barriers, concerns, and plans to the federal government. More about this work will be presented in the spring update.

Continuing Education

The Director for Education has organized and offered several continuing education opportunities this year both in person and virtually. We aim to offer one opportunity monthly at minimum and locations will change depending upon the sponsor and speaker. As opportunities are planned, NP members will receive an email invitation, but info will also be posted on the website member page. Please check regularly for updates!

The NPAA continues to voluntarily work hard for NPs and Albertans. We are in a time of great transition. All components of this update are moving parts in the picture of the NP profession in Alberta. I welcome questions and feedback from any NP within our province and encourage you to become involved as participants in our profession’s future.

Enjoy the holiday season,

Susan Prendergast 

NPAA President