WHEREAS the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, through the Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement, classifies each rural BC Community on an isolation-based point system to determine inventive levels for physicians; AND WHEREAS the classification system for the Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement does not value demographic and subpopulation factors when ranking rural communities, particularly those with a significant proportion of at-risk subpopulations or a demographic indicative of a heightened need for physicians to support aging in place: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM urges the Government of British Columbia, through its involvement with the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues, to revise the Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreements point system for classifying rural BC communities so as to value demographic and subpopulation factors.
Ministry of Health The Community Point Rating System is negotiated between the British Columbia Medical Association and the Province, as part of the Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement and has been in place since January 2003. The Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement has recently been re-negotiated, effective April 1, 2012. The Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues reviews the rural programs on an on-going basis and will consider this resolution in their future discussions regarding the point system.