Family medicine priorities reflected in BC’s Budget 2027 Consultation Report

When BCCFP President Dr. Jennifer Lush presented to the Legislature’s Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services in June, she brought a clear message on behalf of more than 8,000 family physicians: strengthening family medicine is essential to a stronger health care system in BC.

Dr. Lush called for action on our members’ priorities: support family physician-led team-based care, strengthen rural family medicine, and reduce administrative burden through better-connected digital health systems.

The Committee has now released its Report on the Budget 2027 Consultation, and these priorities are reflected in its discussion of opportunities to strengthen health care in BC.

For family physicians, this matters because the challenges they experience every day – fragmented systems, administrative burden, the need for locally responsive teams, and the pressures facing rural practice – are being recognized in a formal process that helps inform provincial budget decisions.

Reducing the burden of disconnected systems

The report reflects an issue family physicians have repeatedly raised: BC’s digital health systems do not connect as effectively as they should.

Family physicians are the foundation of primary care in BC. They coordinate care with hospitals, specialists, diagnostic services and other health professionals – but the information required to do that does not always move with the patient.

That fragmentation creates additional work. Family doctors can spend valuable time searching for information, following up on referrals and results, reconciling records and duplicating work that has already happened elsewhere in the system.

In its own discussion following the consultation, the Committee recognizes the need for change:

“Committee Members agreed there are opportunities to improve the efficiency and interconnectedness of the health care system for both health care workers and patients.”

More specifically, it identifies digital connectivity as a way of addressing administrative burden:

“Committee Members identified digital improvements, including implementing digital referrals and consolidating electronic medical records, as an effective method to reduce the administrative burden on family physicians.”

-- Report on the Budget 2027 Consultation, p. 46 

For family physicians, this recognition is important because administrative burden isn't just about inconvenience.

Every unnecessary administrative task competes with time that could otherwise be spent with patients. Better-connected systems can make it easier for family physicians to coordinate care, reduce unnecessary duplication and have the information they need when making clinical decisions.

Bringing the realities of rural family medicine forward

Family medicine looks different across BC. In rural and remote communities, family physicians often provide a particularly broad scope of care while working within smaller teams and with more limited access to specialist and other health services.

During the Budget 2027 consultation, BCCFP brought forward the need to sustain and strengthen this essential part of the health care system.

The Committee’s report specifically captures that message on page 45:

“Regarding primary care, the BC College of Family Physicians identified opportunities to sustain and strengthen rural family medicine, including by supporting recruitment and retention and expanding rural training, mentorship, and leadership opportunities across medical education.”

The report also recognizes the importance of programs that help connect rural clinicians with specialist expertise:

“The College also highlighted the impact of real-time virtual support programs that connect rural, remote, and Indigenous health care providers with specialist pediatricians and maternal-newborn experts.”

-- Report on the Budget 2027 Consultation, p. 45 

These issues matter because access to family medicine should not depend on where someone lives – and family physicians need the right supports to provide sustainable care in the communities they practise in.

Recruitment is one part of that challenge. Retaining family physicians, supporting them throughout their careers, creating rural training and leadership opportunities, and ensuring they can access specialist advice when they need it are equally important to building a sustainable rural health care workforce.

Supporting team-based care that works for physicians and patients

Team-based care was another important part of Dr. Lush’s presentation to the Committee.

Family physicians have consistently supported the potential of interdisciplinary teams to improve patient care. But successful team-based care must be designed around the needs of patients, practices and communities rather than imposed through a single model.

The Committee reflects this in its discussion:

“The Committee indicated that there is a need to move team-based care forward, but emphasized that this cannot be done with a one-size-fits-all approach.”

The report recognizes particular challenges in smaller and rural communities and goes on to say:

“The Committee agreed that, in team-based care settings, physicians should be allowed to select allied health professionals to work within their clinics.”

-- Report on the Budget 2027 Consultation, pp. 46–47 

A team serving a large urban practice may need to look very different from one serving a small rural community. Family physicians understand their patients, their practices and the gaps in care within their communities. Giving them greater ability to shape the teams around them can help ensure investments in team-based care translate into meaningful improvements for patients.

Why participating in these processes matters

The Budget 2027 consultation brought together hundreds of organizations and individuals with priorities spanning health care, housing, education, affordability, the economy and other issues facing British Columbians.

For BCCFP, participating in this process is one of the ways we represent the collective voice of more than 8,000 family physicians.

Our members tell us what is getting in the way of providing the care they want to provide. Our job is to make sure those experiences reach the people who have the ability to change the systems around them.

That means translating member experiences into clear policy priorities, bringing evidence and solutions to government, building relationships with decision-makers and partners, and continuing to advocate long after an individual meeting or consultation has ended.

The Budget 2027 report shows why that work matters.

Issues family physicians experience every day are now part of the Legislature's formal discussion about the future of health care: the administrative burden created by disconnected digital systems; the importance of strengthening rural family medicine; and the need for flexible, locally responsive approaches to team-based care. 

That does not mean the work is finished.

While the Committee report does not guarantee that an issue will receive funding or become government policy, recognition creates an important foundation for continued advocacy.

As government develops Budget 2027, we will continue advocating for practical changes that make it easier for family physicians to provide high quality, culturally safe care: more connected digital systems, less unnecessary administrative work, strong and sustainable rural family medicine, and team-based care designed around the realities of patients, physicians and communities.

For our more than 8,000 members, that is the value of sustained advocacy: ensuring the realities of family medicine are understood by decision-makers, reflected in the policy conversation, and ultimately translated into changes that make a difference in practice.