Health & Healthcare

Family doctors and primary care platforms

Here's what the 2024 BC election parties are promising.

BC NDP

  • Expand how pharmacists can prescribe medications, refer, and offer testing for routine conditions

    "Saving you a trip to the doctor for more common conditions so you can get better faster. We will expand how pharmacists can prescribe medications, refer and offer testing for routine conditions – like strep throat or UTI testing. This means routine illnesses can be tested for and treated quickly and without a doctor’s appointment, freeing up primary care providers’ time for more patients." — An Action Plan for You, retrieved 2024-10-07

BC Conservatives

  • Consult with primary care providers on finding efficiencies and optimisations

    "Comprehensive primary care led by a family physician improves patient outcomes. The Conservative Party of BC will immediately consult and work with physicians and other primary health providers (e.g., physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners) on ways to maximize the number of people a family doctor’s office can see. This will support the reported nearly 1 million British Columbians without a family doctor to get off a waitlist and into a primary healthcare clinic.

    To meet the current and future demand, increasing the number of family physicians is important but will not be enough on its own. It is critical that we work together to look at ways to optimize the utilization and efficiency of our primary healthcare providers, including the use of modern tools and technologies to reduce administrative burden, track and optimize staffing, and ultimately improve patient outcomes." — conservativebc.ca, retrieved 2024-10-08

  • Ensure more residents of rural areas can access telehealth and digital diagnostic tools

    "Ensuring that more British Columbians in rural areas are able to access updated types of care like telehealth and digital diagnostic tools." — conservativebc.ca, retrieved 2024-10-08

BC Greens

  • Establish an integrated community health centre in every riding, with 93 health centres in the first year

    "The BC Greens commit to establishing an integrated community health centre in every riding in the province. The ‘Dogwood Model’ is based on former Minister of Health Hon. Jane Philpott’s Periwinkle Model. It focuses on ensuring everyone has a primary care home - a place where they belong, where they feel at home, where they will go for most of their healthcare needs, and where they have a regular provider—a family physician or nurse practitioner.

    The Dogwood Model provides several advantages for both practitioners and patients; it has easy referral models, so patients can receive care from the expert that best meets their need, be it a physiotherapist or a dietician. It places the administrative burden on the administrative professionals, rather than the health staff, ensuring they can focus their energies on healthcare, and providing the benefits of being a staff member—including health benefits and paid vacation and parental leave."

    BC Greens 2024 Platform, retrieved 2024-10-09

Looking for the parties' positions on other topics?

See our full 2024 BC election platform comparison
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