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Health Quality Alberta is seeking examples of initiatives that have changed patient and family experience for the better. Applications are now being accepted for the 2027 Patient Experience Awards. The awards celebrate great work being done to improve how patients access or receive healthcare services in Alberta.
Past winners said they were able to attract funding, build partnerships, and grow their programs to serve more Albertans. The award opened doors for them internally with colleagues and other departments, and for collaborations within and outside Alberta.
Click here to learn about the recipients from 2026 and earlier. Pharmacy professionals have been part of teams to receive the award in the past, including the Edmonton Prostate Interdisciplinary Cancer Clinic (2019) and the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program (2020).
Award recipients receive
- a professional video about their program,
- personalized certificates for team members and an award for display,
- a $2,000 education grant to support knowledge-sharing and professional development, and
- recognition for their initiative across Alberta.
A successful applicant
- Has evidence from the patient perspective that something needed to be changed.
- Engaged patients and/or their family members in the process to improve (including the evaluation).
- Can show how the experiences of patients and families were improved by this approach or initiative. Different forms of evidence are accepted, from metrics to anecdotal lived experience.
Click here to see examples of successful submissions from the past.
Read Health Quality Alberta’s blog post: 10 tips for a strong Patient Experience Award submission.
Applications will be accepted online until November 16, 2026, and must include a 500-word project summary and two statements of support from patients or families served by the program.
All applicants will learn the status of their submission in December. Those shortlisted to advance to the second part of evaluation will have until next February to complete Part B of their submission, and the final results will be announced next spring. Part B requires a 2,000-word project description from the shortlisted applicants.
Health Quality Alberta and our Patient and Family Advisory Committee established the awards in 2015 to shine a light on programs that improve patient experience in Alberta. Up to four initiatives are recognized annually.
