New System For Health Care Delivery Announced

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. - The Province of B.C. is making a commitment to seeing that every person in the province who wants a family doctor, has one by  2015.

A new system of primary health care delivery is being developed in Prince George, White Rock-South Surrey, and Cowichan Valley and will expand to other areas of the province, with the new primary care model being introduced in up to 20 communities as early as fall 2010. 

A key part of the change is the introduction of Divisions of Family Practice. Divisions of Family Practice provide a way for family physicians to work collaboratively as a group with regional health authorities and other community partners to provide the best care possible for patients, especially patients with higher needs such as mental illness, frailties and chronic diseases. 

"My experience in Mackenzie with six doctors in three years is a reflection of the experience of many rural or remote communities," said Pat Crook of Mackenzie. "Physician attachment is more than just a name attached to a patient; it is a long term relationship, which is why we need to get creative with our health care models and work on physician retention in rural and remote communities. Solutions like Northern Health's alternative payment plan for doctors will hopefully address the problem of retention of doctors in rural or remote communities like Mackenzie." 

Each participating division will make it easier for patients who do not have a family physician to find one. Divisions of Family Practice will provide a one stop call to assist people who arrive in a new community to find a family doctor. The same type of link would work for patients without a family doctor who arrive in the emergency department and are given the contact information for the division in order to get a family doctor of their own.

Family doctors will also use new innovations to build on their capacity to take on additional patients. This could involve offering group consultations for patients with chronic diseases instead of the traditional one-on-one consultation.  Health Minister Kevin Falcon says the Province will continue to offer incentives to graduates  to  get them to set up practice in rural areas, those incentives include cash bonuses and  student loan payments.

 It is anticipated that up to 400,000 British Columbians and 400 physicians will participate in the first phase of this program.

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