What is AMHSP?
The Academic Medicine and Health Services Program (AMHSP) ensures physicians affiliated with Alberta’s faculties of medicine are compensated for providing patient care along with their work related to research, innovation, education, administration and leadership. The AMHSP has enabled innovation across academic medicine and brought some of the best and brightest people in academic medicine to Alberta.
Why is AMHSP important?
AMHSP is a critical financial, governance, and accountability framework that is deeply intertwined with the success of the Cumming School of Medicine. This program provides the essential platform for the medical school to fulfill its core mandates of delivering high-quality healthcare, advancing medical education, and fostering groundbreaking research.
The fundamental importance of the AMHSP to the Cumming School of Medicine is rooted in its comprehensive support for the academic physician. The program brings in approximately $100 million+ in funding per year, which compensates physicians for a wide array of activities beyond direct patient care, including teaching, research, and administrative leadership (AMHSP program also funds a data analyst in my team). This model is crucial for an academic institution like the Cumming School of Medicine, as it allows faculty members to dedicate time to educating the next generation of healthcare professionals and to conduct vital research that can lead to medical innovations.
A key aspect of the AMHSP's significance is its role in attracting and retaining top-tier academic talent in Alberta. By providing a stable and predictable funding model that values academic contributions, the program helps the Cumming School of Medicine build and maintain an "appropriate and excellent academic clinical workforce".
The mission and goals of the AMHSP align seamlessly with those of the Cumming School of Medicine. The program's stated mission "to improve health by providing outstanding clinical, education, research, and leadership services" is the very essence of an academic medical center's purpose. This is further reflected in the AMHSP's goals, which include:
Enhancing Medical Education: A core goal of the AMHSP is to "prepare learners to be outstanding clinicians, researchers, teachers, and leaders".
Driving Research and Innovation: The program is designed to "support the advancement of knowledge through scientific and applied research" and to "achieve and sustain excellence in focused priority areas of basic, clinical, translational, and applied research".
Improving Clinical Care: The AMHSP aims to "continuously improve clinical service quality standards", ensuring that the care provided by faculty members at affiliated hospitals remains at the forefront of medicine.
Moreover, the AMHSP provides a structured framework for collaboration and accountability, with a "common provincial governance framework with clearly defined goals and accountability". This ensures that the efforts of the Cumming School of Medicine's faculty are aligned with provincial health needs and priorities. The program's emphasis on "evidence-informed practices" and "innovation" further propels the medical school's role as a leader in the evolving healthcare landscape, benefiting Albertans and contributing to the broader advancement of medicine.
What are the components of AMHSP evaluation?
AIR Report
AMHSP Individual Report (AIR) is to gather data on the activities of all AMHSP members, including locums and those who are 100% clinical, for every fiscal year. This self-reported data is essential for tracking individual productivity, informing cohort reporting for the member's arrangement, and fulfilling the reporting commitment that is part of the AMHSP contract. The content of the AIR report is comprehensive, requiring members to detail their activities across several sections. These include "Contract Information and Highlights" , "Clinical Activities" such as patient care and learner supervision , "Administrative/Service Activities" like committee work and leadership roles , "Research and Scholarship Activities" covering publications, grants, and presentations , and "Education/Teaching Activities". Optional sections on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Awards, and Consents are also included. The report culminates with a "Verification of Income" and final submission section.
As the lead for AMHSP analytics I oversee the entire annual life cycle of this critical initiative. The AIR is a cornerstone of our accountability framework, designed to track and measure progress towards our core mission of achieving excellence in health through outstanding clinical service, education, and research. My role encompasses the strategic oversight of the report's creation, validation, distribution, and collection for over 500 physicians each year.
The key phases of this annual project under my leadership include:
Creation and Validation: I lead the annual design, development, and improvement of the AIR's content and structure. This involves a validation process where we engage with stakeholders and incorporate feedback to ensure the report accurately captures the diverse activities of our members and aligns with AMHSP's strategic goals. The detailed sections covering clinical, administrative, research, and educational activities are carefully curated to provide a comprehensive picture of academic productivity.
Distribution: I manage a standardized and secure digital distribution strategy to ensure every AMHSP member receives a unique, personal link to their report in a timely manner. This process is designed to be clear and efficient, minimizing confusion and establishing a definitive start to the reporting period, which runs from April 1 to April 30.
Collection: I oversee the data collection process through a centralized platform. My focus is on ensuring data integrity and user compliance. This includes establishing clear protocols for data entry, saving progress, and final submission. The system is designed to culminate in the member receiving a final PDF copy of their submitted activities for their own records.
Comprehensive Support: A key part of my leadership is managing the robust, multi-tiered support system. I oversee the faculty analytics team which serves as the primary point of contact for all technical and general inquiries. For content-specific questions, I ensure there is a clear process for physicians to consult their direct departmental leadership, creating an efficient model that provides both technical and policy support to all 500+ members throughout the reporting cycle.
In addition to managing the life cycle of the AIR, a significant aspect of my role involves the in-depth analysis of the collected data. By examining trends year-over-year, I can identify which activities occur most frequently, showcasing the core strengths and consistent excellence of our physicians. This trend analysis allows us to build a powerful narrative around high-impact contributions and patterns of outstanding performance across the cohort. Conversely, by identifying activities that are reported infrequently, we can uncover potential systemic challenges, resource gaps, or barriers that may be hindering progress in certain areas. This data-driven approach is crucial for strategic planning, enabling us to address obstacles and better support our members in their multifaceted roles.
Through this analytical lens, the AIR data is transformed into a compelling story of our physicians' extensive contributions. I analyze the data to quantify and articulate their profound impact on multiple fronts: to academia, through a wealth of publications, grants, and innovative curriculum development; to patients, through the delivery of high-quality, complex clinical care and the introduction of new treatments; to students and trainees, through dedicated supervision and mentorship that shapes the next generation of healthcare professionals; and to society at large, through leadership in public health, policy development, and knowledge translation. This comprehensive analysis demonstrates the immense value AMHSP members bring to the broader health and academic ecosystem, reinforcing the importance of our collective mission.
AMHSP Productivity, Scholarship, and Impact
I have developed a detailed and data-rich performance report that chronicles the significant achievements and impacts of the AMHSP every year. My report uses a multi-faceted approach to quantify and articulate the program's value, covering seven key areas:
Publication Productivity
Research Excellence
Policy and Clinical Impact
National Prestige
Innovation and Commercialization
Financial Competitiveness
Peer Recognition
This report is important because it provides a clear, evidence-based narrative that directly aligns the program's performance with its core strategic objectives. It serves as a tool for accountability, strategic planning, and demonstrating value to stakeholders, including the Government of Alberta.
Here’s why each component of my analysis and report is vital to AMHSP's mandate, vision, and mission:
Demonstrating Research Excellence: The detailed metrics on highly-cited papers, top-tier journal publications, and competitive grant funding show that AMHSP is fulfilling its goal "To achieve and sustain excellence in focused priority areas of basic, clinical, translational, and applied research" 1 and its vision "To achieve excellence in health via academic medicine"2.
Highlighting Tangible Impact: By tracking policy citations, clinical guidance, and the creation of startups, my report demonstrates that AMHSP is meeting its mandate to "Disseminating and applying results while innovating across all activities" 3 and its goal "To drive continuous, rigorously evaluated, evidence-based innovation"4. This shows that the research has a real-world impact that is designed "to benefit Albertans and beyond"5.
Showcasing Leadership and Talent: The sections on Canada Research Chairs and prestigious awards align with AMHSP’s goal "To recruit and retain an appropriate and excellent academic clinical workforce"6. This national and international recognition affirms that the program is home to leaders in medicine and science, which is central to its mission.
Ensuring Accountability and Value: The entire report serves as an accountability framework. The grant funding, which leverages provincial investment to attract national funds, and the metrics on startups and awards provide quantifiable successes. This directly addresses the principle to "Ensure value for money for public funds... and provide for long-term budget predictability and sustainability by taking a proactive approach to achieving efficiencies and proper reporting to ensure accountability and transparency"7.
In essence, my report moves beyond simple output metrics to tell a compelling story of impact. It provides AMHSP with the evidence needed to articulate its value proposition clearly, demonstrating that it is a strategic asset for the province that effectively transforms public investment into scientific advancement, superior healthcare, and economic prosperity.