Practicing family medicine in Vancouver comes with undeniable pressures—from mounting overhead costs and administrative overload to complex panel management and physician burnout. The Vancouver Division of Family Practice’s 2025/2026 Annual Report highlights how we deployed funding directly into local primary care to ease your operational burdens, expand your clinic’s capacity, and champion community longitudinal practice.
Here is how the Division’s operational programs and advocacy worked directly for you and your practice this past year:
Lightening Overhead & Operational Burdens
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Practice Sustainability & Business Support: Supported clinic owners through peer-led Business Lounges and 1-on-1 consultations addressing practice finances, transition planning, and operational workflows to help counter the 40% overhead squeeze.
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MOA & Clinic Staff Infrastructure: Strengthened practice efficiency through compensated MOA education sessions (covering LFP billing, PAS reconciliation, and EMR workflows), the launch of MOA & Clinic Manager Handbooks, and an MOA recruitment pilot.
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Technology & EMR Optimization: Provided 1-on-1 Tech Concierge assistance, digital workflow support, Private Physician Network (PPN) transition navigation, and an EMR immunization reporting pilot (PIR) to minimize administrative data entry.
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Turnkey Seasonal Supports: Handled end-to-end logistics for flu vaccine delivery across 170 clinics and returns for 55 clinics at no cost—distributing 74.9% of Vancouver's doses while stripping away cold-chain management hassles.
Expanding Your Practice Capacity with Team-Based Care
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Interprofessional Teams (IPT): Embedded 51 IPT clinicians (counsellors, social workers, dietitians, pharmacists, and OTs) across networks, offering 502 eligible providers in 103 clinics direct referral pathways for complex patient needs.
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Embedded Practice RNs: Integrated 32 PCN Registered Nurses across 28 community clinics, backed by an RN Working Group designed to optimize clinical scope and clinic workflows.
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In-Clinic Pharmacists: Expanded co-located PCN Pharmacists to 14 clinics to assist directly with complex medication management, polypharmacy, and panel reviews.
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Group Medical Visits: Piloted IPT-led group visits (Clinical Counsellors and Registered Dietitians) to offer patients timely care while reducing individual appointment backlogs.
Smart Attachment & Practice Transition Protections
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Targeted Patient Attachment: Facilitated 12,328 patient attachments through the Patient Attachment Initiative (5,430) and Health Connect Registry (6,898), prioritizing seniors 70+, mental health, and maternity patients.
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Panel Splitting Advocacy: Successfully negotiated with the Ministry of Health to allow splitting large, complex retiring panels across multiple New-to-Practice (NTP) providers alongside HCR attachments, making panel takeovers realistic for new doctors.
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Retirement & Practice Takeovers: Supported 39 retirements/closures, facilitated 29 practice takeovers, and actively assisted 27 members with 12-month retirement transition plans to safeguard longitudinal panels.
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Locum & Permanent Recruitment: Secured 37 permanent placements (26 FPs, 11 NPs) and filled 37 locum requests to provide members with critical coverage and relief.
Peer Connection, Wellness & Tailored Clinical Education
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Burnout Prevention & Peer Support: Hosted 25 physician-led peer engagement events reaching 200 participants across 61 clinics, 1:1 confidential peer support, and the Doc-to-Doc column to foster professional community.
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Pragmatic Practice Workshops: Delivered high-value sessions including "Help Me Fill This Out!" (navigating ICBC, WorkSafe, and PWD forms), menopause care, and youth vaping cessation.
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Targeted Clinical Pathways:
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Women's & Maternity Health: Co-developed the Provincial Menopause and Perimenopause Care Pathway on PathwaysBC (3,730+ views) and expanded access to the But I Don't Do Maternity Care (BIDDMC) course province-wide.
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Mental Health & Substance Use: Trained 1,588 attendees (including 132 FPs) on DBT emotion regulation tools, launched an AUD integration initiative across 24 clinics, and built practical tools for Stimulant and Opioid Use Disorders.
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Seniors Care: Supported 39 LTC homes covering 4,000+ residents, rolled out the Integrated Frailty and Function Assessment (IFFA) to reduce consent fatigue, and hosted hands-on suture skills labs.
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Responsible Governance & Fiscal Stewardship
With 100% of our funding deployed locally in Vancouver, administrative overhead kept to 6.2%, and a clean independent audit with zero recommendations for improvement, every dollar was managed to directly support family physicians and strengthen primary care delivery.
Read the full Vancouver Division of Family Practice 2025/2026 Annual Report to discover all the tools, supports, and peer networks available to you and your clinic team.