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Empowered patients

Your health needs are the driving force behind important healthcare decisions.

We work with both family doctors, who are members of our organization, and patients, to improve primary care in Calgary. Research shows people who have a relationship with their family doctor are healthier, live longer, and are hospitalized less. We are here to help build strong doctor-patient relationships through innovation, collaboration, compassion, accountability, and respect.

We support you directly through programs, services, and appointments. We also consult with patients to improve and develop new offerings, in support of evolving health care needs.

We will:

• Respond to your needs
• Respect your cultural and personal health beliefs and practices
• Involve you in the development of our health services
• Continuously improve safety   

Our healthcare workers, including Registered Nurses, Social Workers, and mental health professionals, support family physicians with team-based care for patients (like you), including chronic disease management, mental health assistance, and help navigating the wider health system.

Our teams work with you to help you manage your own health and understand how to advocate for your needs within the healthcare system. They empower you by offering support, information, and health guidance. To learn more about our team’s patient-centred training, visit HealthChange Methodology. Health starts with you.

Our values:

• Innovation
• Collaboration
• Compassion
• Accountability
• Respect

It is our mission to build and sustain a community of patient-centred medical homes. We call a family doctor's clinic a patient's medical home (or health home) because patients can have all non-urgent healthcare concerns addressed in one place.

To benefit from the improved health outcomes of the medical home model, patients first need to have a dedicated family doctor. Secondly, they need to see them regularly. And lastly, they need to follow through on recommended courses of treatment and actions (also called self-management).

We support patient care and medical homes by: educating patients on the value of having a medical home; helping patients find a family physician; researching and developing programs and services for patients; consulting with patients, physicians and health partners; providing in-clinic resources and supports for programs; and managing a centralized after-hours clinic.

Accreditation

In addition to our work with patients, we voluntarily participate in Accreditation Canada's Qmentum program to improve the quality and safety of our services.

Accreditation is an independent, internationally recognized evaluation system. It verifies what we are doing well and identifies areas for improvement so we continue to evolve to provide the highest level of quality care possible.

Accreditation Canada conducted an onsite survey of our organization in fall 2020 and officially Accredited our PCN in February 2021. We had previously achieved the Accreditation Primer Award in December 2018 before beginning the Qmentum program.

Being Accredited means a third-party (Accreditation Canada) assessed our organization, and we met or exceeded current healthcare standards. Accreditation is an ongoing process of assessing our organization against standards of excellence to identify what we are doing well and what we can improve.

To demonstrate our commitment to transparency and improvement, we are making the executive summary of our Accreditation Report available. It highlights our successes and opportunities for further development.

We are proud of all the ways in which we are making our organization safer, and we continue to work to improve as part of our ongoing journey in the Qmentum program.

Listening to your needs

We value collaboration and are open to feedback as part of providing an exceptional experience for patients and their families.

Our annual patient experience survey collects information on patients’ ability to manage their health and their experiences with our health teams.

We collect feedback from patients about their experience at our clinic, the Primary Care Centre, so we can improve our services and safety.

Have you had a recent appointment at the Primary Care Centre or with one of our clinic teams (Senior Services or Social Workers)? Please visit our patient feedback page to share your thoughts.

Patient Advisory Council (PAC)

Our Patient Advisory Council is a forum to discuss the patient perspective in bimonthly meetings. Members of community volunteer their time with the PAC as Patient Advisors to share their thoughts on our services, projects, and the medical home so we can improve.

It is our way of involving patients in initiatives, and testing new ideas. Please visit the PAC page to learn more or if you are interested in joining.

Patient Safety Committee (PSC)

Our Patient Safety Committee identifies gaps and ways to enhance patient safety. Together, they work to improve the quality and safety of our services.

Members of the PSC review any safety concerns and share lessons learned. A Patient Advisor from the PAC sits on the committee, which also has representatives from across our organization, to represent patients and families.