How do we envision our future? Everything AHS employees, physicians and volunteers do should advance patient- and family-centred care. And we know that excellent patient and family-centred care is attainable when staff, physicians and volunteers feel safe, healthy and valued in the work environment.

Using the AHS Business Plan as our roadmap, AHS has worked with staff, physicians, volunteers and partners to build four foundational strategies. The four strategies will guide efforts to sustain safe, high-quality health-care delivery for the benefit of all Albertans. They are built on the base of our Values and Mission, and provide a solid framework for us to manage the demands within our system and to coordinate efforts across the province.

Foundational Strategies

Following extensive consultations with key stakeholders — including patients, clients and their families — Alberta Health Services developed four foundational strategies. Our foundational strategies will guide efforts to sustain safe, high-quality health-care delivery for the benefit of all Albertans.

The foundational strategies are:

• Patient First Strategy
  • Main objective: Strengthen AHS' culture and practices to ensure patients and families are at the centre of all health care activities, decisions and teams.
  • How will AHS do it: Promote respectful patient/provider interactions; improve communication between providers and patients/clients/families; adopt a team-based approach to care; and improve transitions in care.
• Our People Strategy
  • Main objective: Our People Strategy is about how we support each other. It is about creating a culture in which we all feel safe, healthy, and valued, and can reach our full potential. Through Our People Strategy, workforce engagement will be higher, and patient and family experiences will improve as a result.
  • How will AHS do it: Create a clear vision for the organization, with a shared purpose and common goals; build a safe, healthy and inclusive place to work; develop excellent leadership that will respect, value and support the workforce; create a culture of empowerment by giving people access to the resources and development opportunities they need to do their jobs effectively.
• Strategy for Clinical Health Research, Innovation and Analytics
  • Main objective: Generate, share and use evidence in the delivery of care to improve patient outcomes and to solve the complex challenges affecting the health system.
  • How AHS will do it: Use Strategic Clinical Networks to engage partners in research and innovation; identify gaps where research and innovation will have a significant benefit to patients and the health system; provide easy, timely and secure access to health information; apply and spread knowledge; and innovate to achieve service excellence.
• Information Management & Information Technology Strategy
  • Main objective: To make the right information available to the right people at the right time across the health system, so that providers and patients across the province have access to complete information at the point of care and to learn from in the future.
  • How AHS will do it: AHS will use information and technology to transform care in the following ways:
    • Strengthen the Foundation - improve understanding and use of technology, provide reliable infrastructure and info-structure, and enhance security of information.
    • Optimize Operations - make investments which provide best value, support critical services, and improve access and flow of information.
    • Transform Care - empower Albertans to participate in their health with better access to records and communication with providers; better clinical decision support tools at the point of care and learning and innovation which drives long-term improvement in the health system.