BC Medical Association: Meeting the Challenge: Safeguarding Tomorrow's Population Today

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 13, 2012) - In six short years there will be more people over the age of 65 than under the age of 18 living in British Columbia. And in 25 years, the number of seniors over the age of 80 will have more than doubled to 435,000. Structuring a health care system to serve a population that will be dramatically different than the one we have today is a significant concern.

In its submission to BC's Select Standing Committee on Health, Charting the Course: Designing British Columbia's health care system for the next 25 years, the BC Medical Association summarizes the key challenges of our system related to population changes, health expenditures and the projected growth of chronic disease and makes a number of recommendations. Not only is our senior population increasing, but so is the number of people with one or more chronic conditions. By 2036 an estimated one million new people will have been diagnosed with depression, hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes and asthma.

"I am pleased that the committee is looking at the challenges facing our future health care system and is requesting input from the public and other stakeholders as well as examining strategies on how to move forward," said Dr Nasir Jetha, President of the BCMA. "Early planning is imperative and stakeholder input necessary to make sure all bases are covered."

With the Council of the Federation meeting being held early next week in Victoria, Charting the Course should contribute greatly to the discussion. The paper also highlights innovation underway in BC due to the collaboration between the BCMA and the Ministry of Health in which more than 600,000 patients are benefitting from improved care of chronic disease and has resulted in the province having the lowest hospitalization rates in Canada for seven of the most common medical conditions.

This is a summary report that encapsulates a number of BCMA policy papers and makes six recommendations including:

• Continuing to implement and expand patient-focused funding
• Expanding healthier lifestyle options and clinical prevention strategies in areas such as obesity, inactivity, mental health and chronic diseases
• Continue the investment in health capital construction and community programs to meet the needs of the changing population

The BCMA has developed several policy papers with dozens of recommendations for improving the system in areas such as health human resources, operating room efficiencies, mental health and addictions, and patient focused funding. These papers and their recommendations can be found on the BCMA website at: https://www.bcma.org/publications-media/policy-statements-papers.