The ministry says that since 2018, more than 895,000 residents have been newly linked to a family doctor or nurse practitioner, and in 2025 alone over 225,000 people were newly attached – the highest yearly total since the province began tracking the figures.

To boost recruitment, the government introduced a new payment model that moves away from the traditional fee‑for‑service system, streamlined licensing for internationally trained physicians, and launched the Health Connect Registry, an online portal that matches patients with available providers.

However, the impact is uneven across the province. Data from the North Shore Division of Family Practice show doctors there can still accept about 20,000 new patients, while the north and interior regions report acute shortages, with retirements and population growth outpacing new hires.

Birinder Narang, president of B.C. Family Doctors, said the reforms have changed the way community practices operate, noting more clinics are opening and new physicians are arriving, but he cautioned that “there are complexities we have to deal with.” On Vancouver Island, family physician Aaron Childs echoed the concern, pointing out that many senior doctors are retiring and that recruitment can take up to a year, creating a lag between policy and real‑world results.

These facts show that, despite higher doctor‑per‑capita numbers and several policy innovations, a large gap in primary‑care access persists, especially in regions where the supply of physicians cannot keep up with demand.