We should congratulate the BC NDP for greatly improving access to primary care for patients in BC.

They've made it possible to get same-day access to a primary care provider who can see you, order lab tests, refer you to specialists, and much more. How did they do it?

Not through their own UPCCs, which are impossible to get into. Or through people's own family doctors, who take weeks to get into for 5min appts. And not connecting people to docs, as people languish on the Health Connect Registry for years.

1/20 🧵BC NDP bet big on Urgent and Primary Care Centres (UPCCs). Critics say they're expensive, horribly managed, and don't deliver what they promised.

I reviewed the govt's own data, obtained via FOI.

The critics are right.

Strap in. Full details at takingaction.ca/upcc/
2/20 If you're unfamiliar with healthcare alphabet soup…

UPCC = Urgent and Primary Care Centre
FOI = Freedom of Information
FP = family physician
NP = nurse practitioner
FFS = fee-for-service (pay model)
LFP = longitudinal family practice (pay model)
MSP = Medical Services Plan

1/6 🧵BC NDP bet big on Urgent and Primary Care Centres (UPCCs). Critics say they're expensive, horribly managed, and don't deliver what they promised.

I reviewed the government's own data, obtained via FOI.
The critics are right.

Here's just a taste of what I found. 2/6 Here's costs and visits at the Westshore UPCC (WUPCC) for one year (Apr/2022-Mar/2023).

Works out to $216 per UPCC “visit” on average.

That's SIX TIMES a Fee-For-Service family physician (FP) visit.

An LFP visit would need to be nearly 90min to match (not happening!).