Core Business Areas

The health system is complex and multi-faceted with many different organizations, agencies and providers delivering services to meet the population’s health needs. The ministry’s core business areas are organized to reflect the major partnerships and roles that combine to form a high quality, coordinated health system for British Columbians.

Our partners deliver the vast majority of health services to the public. These services span the continuum of health services, from population health programs to end-of-life care. Accordingly, this core business accounts for the vast majority of health expenditures, and is the primary focus of the system redesign efforts detailed in this service plan. The major areas included in this core business are:

Regional Health Sector

B.C.’s six health authorities are the ministry’s key organizational partners in delivering services to British Columbians. More than 90 per cent of the Regional Health Sector funding is provided to the six health authorities for the provision of most local health services, including health promotion and protection services, primary care, hospital services, home and community care, mental health and addiction services, and end-of-life care.

The remaining funding is provided to other health agencies for related health services, including: the provision of blood services, out of province hospital services, post-graduate medical education, health care risk management, and some palliative care services.

Medical Services Plan

The Medical Services Plan funds medically necessary services provided by physicians, surgeons, midwives and other practitioners, including diagnostic services. Services are funded in a variety of ways: through fee-for-service, contracts (including contracts with health authorities), salaried positions or sessions. Medical Services Plan funding also provides supplementary benefits to low income British Columbians for a range of services, including physical therapy, naturopathy and chiropractic.

PharmaCare

PharmaCare is B.C.’s prescription drug insurance program and includes several benefit plans. The main plan is Fair PharmaCare, which provides insurance to B.C. families for prescription drug costs. Several other plans exist to address the health needs of individuals, including seniors in long term care facilities, severely disabled children who are cared for at home, enzyme treatment for people with cystic fibrosis, and clients on provincial income assistance.

Health Infrastructure Investment (Debt Service Costs and Amortization of Prepaid Capital Advances)

Government provides debt-financed funding to health authorities for specific capital purposes including the capital cost of new buildings and renovations and improvements to health facilities, as well as diagnostic and medical equipment and information technology. Debt service costs and amortization related to infrastructure investment are captured in this area.

Health Benefit Operations

Health Benefit Operations provides administrative services for B.C.’s PharmaCare Program and Medical Services Plan. These services do not involve direct health care delivery, but include registering beneficiaries, processing medical and pharmaceutical claims from health professionals, and responding to inquiries from the public. Since April 1, 2005 these administrative services have been delivered by Health Insurance BC through an operating agreement. Funding in this area represents the ministry’s purchase of these administrative services.

This core business encompasses two important public services: the B.C. Ambulance Service, which is delivered through the Emergency Health Services Commission, and the Vital Statistics Agency.

Emergency Health Services (B.C. Ambulance Service)

The B.C. Ambulance Service (BCAS) is responsible for providing effective, efficient and equitable emergency health services for the province. Approximately 1,300 full-time and 1,900 part-time paramedics and dispatchers provide emergency and medical transport services. BCAS is a provincial service with 190 stations and 460 ambulances across the province, providing more than 460,000 ground calls and 7,000 air evacuations annually.

British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency

The Vital Statistics Agency is responsible for documenting important events for B.C. citizens such as births, marriages, and deaths. There are two primary outputs of the Agency’s vital event registration activities: the production of accurate, timely and relevant health statistics and information, and the issuance of certified documents pertaining to individual vital events (e.g., birth certificates). The Agency also has a key responsibility to secure and protect personal identity records by taking appropriate measures to prevent identity theft and related frauds as they may relate to British Columbia vital event records and documents.

As stewards of the system, the ministry provides leadership and support to our health system partners, including health authorities, physicians and other care providers. The ministry sets the overall strategic direction for the health system, provides the appropriate legislative and regulatory frameworks to allow it to function smoothly, and plans for the future supply and use of health professionals, technology and facilities. The ministry also monitors the health of the population and plans for and coordinates responses to major public health risks and emergencies. Lastly, the ministry evaluates health system performance against clearly articulated expectations, and takes corrective action where necessary to ensure the population’s health needs are being met.

This core business area includes the Office of the Provincial Health Officer. Under the Health Act, the Provincial Health Officer is the senior medical health officer for British Columbia and provides independent advice to the Minister of Health, the ministry and the public on public health issues and population health. Each year, the Provincial Health Officer must report publicly, through the Minister of Health, to the legislature, on the health of the population.