B.C. has more family doctors per capita than it did 40 years ago, according to a new report, but its lead author says trying to find one or get an appointment can still feel as difficult as competing for tickets to Taylor Swift's highly sought-after Eras Tour.A new report found that B.C. has the highest ratio of doctors to patients in Canada — but that people still find it hard to access them due to high demand.
The data may be surprising given close to one million British Columbians are estimated to be without a family doctor, says co-author Dr. Paul Kershaw, but he says it indicates that hiring more doctors isn't a silver bullet to reduce wait times and improve patient care and outcomes. The study's co-author, Dr. Paul Kershaw, says focusing on investments in health care alone is not the solution, but that policymakers should fund other drivers of population health, like housing and child care.
"We've been growing the medical side disproportionately, but leaving the investments in child care slower, in housing slower, in poverty reduction slower," the Generation Squeeze founder said. "Solving the affordability crisis is as much a health issue as it is a wallet issue." A new study by Get Well Canada and Generation Squeeze, called "Health is More Than Medical Care," discovers the number of physicians in Canada are at an all time high even though it is still challenging to access a doctor these days. Paul Kershaw, founder and executive chair of Generation Squeeze and professor in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC, explains the findings.While B.C.