Healthcare in British Columbia

Healthcare in British Columbia is managed by the Ministry of Health. British Columbia has a publicly funded healthcare system that allows for all B.C. residents to have access to healthcare. The below info-graphic shows how the healthcare system is funded and how the expenditures are broken down. In 2010/2011 the total healthcare expenditure for B.C. was $15.5 billion.

Taken from: https://www.bcauditor.com/healthfundingexplained

As can be seen, part of this funding is provided by Medical Service Premiums (MSP) that individuals or employers pay on a monthly basis. It is through MSP that an individual obtains medical services, therefore it is required for all BC residents to be enrolled in MSP as long as they are eligible. MSP premiums are currently scheduled to be eliminated January 1, 2020. What exactly does MSP cover and not cover for BC residents? See the below links for an extensive list. Covered services Services not covered

How exactly are these services administered in B.C.? There is one provincial health service authority (PHSA), five regional health authorities and one First Nations Health authority that provide services to B.C. residents. The below info-graphic shows how healthcare services are currently provided in B.C.

📷 Taken from: https://www.bcauditor.com/healthfundingexplained

Of importance is the announcement that was made almost one year ago that some services (such as pharmacy) would be consolidated under one health authority: Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA). This process in currently in development, so the impact to B.C. residents and healthcare remains to be seen.

B.C. has an income based program called Fair PharmaCare that helps individuals with the cost of medications, pharmacy dispensing fees and certain medical supplies. The coverage that one receives is directly related to their income, therefore the lower your income the more assistance you will receive. It is important to note that there are a few special subsets in Fair PharmaCare such as those with cystic fibrosis, First Nations, etc. For more information on the specifics, including deductibles and family maximums, please visit here.

The health professionals that work in B.C. have regulatory colleges that provide guidelines for practice. Each of these colleges follows a master framework laid out by the Health Professions Act. This Act outlines many things including health professions, discipline, inspections and a health profession review board. As a pharmacist, the college that I am a part of is the College of Pharmacists of BC. This College is responsible for regulating both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Additionally they compile the Pharmacy Operations and Drug Scheduling Act that outlines bylaws to be followed and licensing information. This video provides some highlights surrounding the College of Pharmacists of BC.

As a clinical hospital pharmacist I work with several different healthcare professionals on a daily basis. Physicians, registered nurses, pharmacy technicians and nurse practitioners are healthcare professionals that I work most closely with. Working in a hospital allows for a multidisciplinary approach to occur, which subsequently leads to the best outcome for the patient. The addition of nurse practitioners to hospital practice is relatively new at the hospital I work at, and the impact of adding this one health profession to our team has been amazing. About one year ago an announcement was made in regards to increasing the number of nurse practitioners in B.C. in order to help patient accessibility to healthcare and specifically primary care providers. It is great to see the impact of this change first hand in practice and it is also wonderful to be a part of this change.

As can be seen, there is a complex system in place in B.C. to allow healthcare to be delivered to its residents. The links included throughout will provide more details as needed to help one further expand their understanding of B.C. healthcare.

References:

1. Queen's Printer. (2019, May 15). Health professions act. Retrieved from: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96183_01

2. Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia. (2019). Health funding explained. Retrieved from: https://www.bcauditor.com/healthfundingexplained

3. College of Pharmacists of British Columbia. (2019). Who we are. Retrieved from: https://www.bcpharmacists.org/

4. British Columbia. (2019). Health and drug coverage. Retrieved from: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage

5. Times Colonist. (2018, May 23). BC adding 200 nurse practitioners in bid to improve access to care. Retrieved from: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/b-c-adding-200-nurse-practitioners-in-bid-to-improve-access-to-care-1.23312190