A planning process that aims to increase access to family doctors, among other things, has begun this summer.
The provincial government has authorized primary care network planning to begin in the Sea to Sky, said Monica McDonald, the Sea to Sky Division of Family Practice executive director.
Following this process, a plan will be submitted, ideally sometime in December. Once the province approves that plan, the creation of a primary care network can begin.
A primary care network is created when local clinics and authorities pool their resources and come together to find ways to augment the services provided by family doctors.
One big boon, McDonald said, is that under a primary care network, doctors in Squamish would be able to work under different compensation schemes, which hopefully will provide further incentive to attract physicians to work in town. This could be a step in the direction of helping address the shortage of general practitioners in the community.
