For physicians
To ensure people living with ALS receive the best possible quality of care, it is critical that their primary care physicians be knowledgeable about the disease and work in collaboration with an ALS specialty team. The resources on this page will help you to better understand ALS in order to support your patients who are living with the disease.
A Guide to ALS Patient Care for Primary Care Physicians
This guide is for general practitioners who have a patient who has been diagnosed with ALS, or who is suspected to have ALS. It will assist you in recognizing the signs and symptoms of ALS, understanding ALS progression, symptom management, changing patient needs, the importance of interdisciplinary ALS care, and more.
ALS Canada Equipment Program
The ALS Canada equipment program is available to people living with ALS who reside in Ontario. It provides people who are living with ALS with access to essential assistive equipment for maintaining their safety, comfort and functioning. As a physician, you will help people living with ALS to assess the type of equipment they need and how to access it.
Learn more about the ALS Canada equipment program
If you live outside of Ontario and would like to learn more about access to equipment, please contact your provincial ALS Society.
Talking with Your Patient’s Children About ALS
This booklet is designed to help health care professionals reinforce with their patients the importance of considering family dynamics in the care and management of a person living with ALS, and in particular how to help young children understand the diagnosis and management of their parent’s illness.
Best Practice Recommendations
Canadians affected by ALS must receive the best possible standard of care regardless of where they live. That is why a pan-Canadian working group of experts in ALS clinical care developed the Canadian ALS Best Practice Recommendations (BPRs). The BPRs reflect the Canadian healthcare system’s reality and addresses issues relevant to Canada, including timeliness of care, disease-modifying therapies, medical assistance in dying (MAiD), and caregiver support. They will empower advocacy for access to the best and most appropriate care for people living with ALS.