Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues Meeting Summaries

January 25, 2025

• The JSC met on January 27 and 28, 2025. 
  • The committee approved the 2025-26 budgets for the Rural Coordination Centre of BC (RCCbc), Locums for Rural BC (LRBC), and the Practice Readiness Assessment-BC (PRA-BC).
  • The Northern and Isolation Travel Assistance Outreach Program (NITAOP) Working Group approved all applications and exceptions for 2025-26.
• Significant NITAOP payment delays are financially impacting physicians, some of whom are considering withdrawing outreach services to rural and remote communities. The MOH, the administrator of NITAOP, is reviewing the payment process to ensure physicians are paid in a reasonable time frame. 
• Rural services continue to be destabilized, particularly in Emergency Departments and for rural Alternative Payment Plan physicians, due to the unintended impacts of the LFP Payment Model. 
• The Human Health Resource shortage is constraining the JSC’s ability to recruit and retain physicians.
• RCCbc celebrated highlights from 2024, including:
  • How Real Time Virtual Support (RTVS) is helping to save lives and transform healthcare for 150+ remote, rural and Indigenous communities across BC across 13 medical disciplines.
  • Launch of the new RTVS pathway: Rural Outreach in Critical Care and Internal Medicine (ROCCi), which will provide real-time assistance to rural healthcare providers and enhance care across BC. 
  • The Indigenous Medical Education Gathering (IMEG) 2024 brought together Indigenous students, residents, physicians, Interprofessional Team Members, and non-Indigenous allies to build community and advance Indigenous health and wellness with land-based healing.