Physicians play key roles to launch Primary Care Networks

Doctors of BC congratulates all the physicians who have worked together with partners to recently announce new Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in our province. Physicians within Divisions of Family Practice worked hard and have been critical to achieve success.

PCNs are community-based networks that link physicians, other health care providers, and administrators across clinics and practices to provide a team-based approach to patient care. The following have been announced so far this year:

Richmond

Three PCNs will be established in Richmond West, Richmond City Centre and Richmond East. Each network will provide a full range of services from maternity to end-of-life care to better support patients. More information is available here.

Prince George

A new PCN will provide team-based care to patients in Prince George and the surrounding area, including the community of Lheidli T’enneh. The BC Ministry of Health also announced the creation of an Urgent and Primary Care Centre. More information can be found here.

South Okanagan Similkameen

PCNs will be established in Summerland, Penticton and Okanagan Falls. A team-based care clinic is also expected to open in Penticton in 2020. The new services will be integrated over the next three years, which will also  expand to surrounding communities. More information is available here.

Burnaby

Three PCNs were announced, along with a new Burnaby Urgent and Primary Care Centre. The networks will be in Brentwood/Hastings, Edmonds, and Metrotown.  A fourth PCN located in the Lougheed region will be developed in the future. Once fully developed, the Metrotown PCN will also form a Centre for Healthy Communities that will support an incubator clinic. For more information, click here.

Fraser Northwest

Four PCNs over the next three years will be set up in Port Coquitlam, North Coquitlam and Port Moody/Anmore/Belcarra, New Westminster, and Southwest and Southeast Coquitlam. The Fraser northwest networks were developed to better meet the specific needs of the community such as pre- and post-natal services, care and assessments and improved access to mild to moderate mental-health and substance. Learn more here.

Currently, 22 divisions and their community and administrative partners are at various stages of identifying gaps in care and creating plans to address them through PCNs. Watch for more announcements to come.

More information on the role of physicians in primary care change can be found below:

GPSC information on primary care changes (link is external)

Role of Specialists in Primary Care Networks