Whereas there is a lack of access to family practitioners in communities throughout British Columbia, exacerbated by barriers to licensing for International Medical Graduate IMG physicians and limited opportunities for medical school graduates to complete their required residencies; And whereas the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia regulates the practice of medicine under the authority of provincial government legislation: Therefore be it resolved that the Province of BC be urged to work with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC to increase the number of family practitioners in British Columbia by expediting the licensing process for qualified IMG physicians and creating more residency opportunities for medical school graduates.
Ministry of Health Postgraduate Medical Education There has been a significant investment into the expansion and distribution of the University of British Columbia UBC medical residency program, over doubling the number of entry-level positions to 346, and also making UBCs Family Medicine residency program the largest in Canada. As part of this expansion, entry-level International Medical Graduate IMG positions have increased from 6 to 58, including a 40 IMG seat expansion since 2011. Of these 58 IMG positions, 52 are dedicated to Family Medicine. Given this unprecedented expansion, including over tripling IMG positions since 2011, there are no immediate plans to significantly increase entry-level residency positions at this time. Furthermore, now that the UBC residency program has just reached steady state, outcomes of expansion will begin to be realized as trainees transition from residency to independent practice. Primary and Community Care The Ministry is providing 150 million over three years to expand the coverage of primary care providers and team-based care so that more people can get access to care when they need it, through urgent primary care centres, community health centres and patient medical homes, embedded within primary care networks, and has recently announced 200 new GP and NP contracts for new graduates or graduates that have not yet established their own patient panel. Primary Care Networks PCNs - The Ministry of Health has been working closely with health authorities, Doctors of BC, BC Nurse Practitioners Association, Divisions of Family Practice and other community partners, in order to establish the first phase of implementing PCNs across BC to provide quality team-based primary care services to the population of local communities, coordinating access to health authority specialized services through integration and service redesign. - PCNs are a network of local primary care service providers that will enable patients to access a full range of primary health care options across different points along the continuum of health including staying healthy, maternity, living with a chronic condition and coping with end-of-life, streamlining referrals from one provider to another, and providing better support to primary health care providers. The initial focus of PCNs is to identify and address the patient attachment gap in their defined geographic area community. - The Ministry of Health aims to support the development of at least 15 PCNs in 2018-19, as per the Ministry Service Plan. Over the next three years, PCNs will be established in 70 percent of BC communities, from large cities to less populated rural areas. - The first PCNs are being implemented in Burnaby, Comox Valley, Prince George, Richmond, South Okanagan Similkameen, Smithers, Kootenay-Boundary, Fraser Northwest, Vancouver City Centre, Maple RidgePitt Meadows, and South Island. Patient Medical Homes PMHs - PMHs are advanced primary care clinics that are defined by 12 attributes. Key attributes of PMHs include the provision of timely access to comprehensive, coordinated primary care where individuals and families have a regular primary care provider who knows them and their needs. - The General Practice Services Committee is working to support family practices to advance to become PMHs, putting initial focus on the foundational building blocks of high performing primary care: engaged leadership, data-driven quality improvement, panel assessment and management, and team-based care. Urgent Primary Care Centres Urgent Primary Care Centres UPCCs will provide access to urgent primary care services for patients currently without a GP or NP, and will work to attach those individuals to primary care providers within a Primary Care Network. They will offer weekend and after-hours access for both attached and unattached patients with urgent care needs in order to relieve pressure on local hospital emergency departments. The Ministry has committed to opening ten new UPCCs by spring 2019. Community Health Centres Community Health Centres CHC bring together broader health and social services to improve access to health promotion, preventative care, and ongoing primary and community care services. The Ministry is working with the CHC community to support their involvement in PCN development, and to support further development of this model in BC. Recruitment of new GP and NP positions - On May 27, 2018, the Province announced, as part of its primary health-care strategy, the planned recruitment of 200 nurse practitioners and 200 general practitioners, including new graduates and residents of family medicine to address the gap in primary care over the next three years. - Through the provincial health authorities, the Province will offer graduating medical residents and nurse practitioners the opportunity to start their careers within primary care networks in team-based practices on alternative payment arrangements, instead of traditional fee-for-service. - The objective of the new service contracts is to support increasing patient attachment across the province and this initiative is targeted to practitioners who do not currently have a patient panel. - New doctors can benefit from the experience and knowledge of other health-care professionals and have income security while they build their patient panels. - By supporting more general practitioners and nurse practitioners to join primary care networks and team-based practices, more families will have access to a greater number of primary care providers for their day-to-day health needs. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC has been delegated the authority under the Health Professions Act to license and govern the practice of their registrants in the public interest by ensuring they are qualified, competent and following standards of practice. To practice medicine in BC, all physicians must be licensed. An IMG may be granted provisional licensure with the expectation that requirements for full licensure are met within five years. Hyperlinks College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC: https:www.cpsbc.cafor-physiciansregistration-licensing Health Professionals Act: https:www.cpsbc.cafor-physiciansregistration-licensing Provisional licensure: https:www.cpsbc.cafor-physiciansregistration-licensingapplyingimgs