Dec. 2nd Session in Vancouver BC, 8am-4pm, Enhancing Access to Specialist Care in Rural BC

Patients living in rural, remote and Indigenous communities are often underserved by specialists and face barriers to equitable health care. Our project aims to enhance access to specialist care for these populations.

We are reaching out to the Patient Voices Network to invite two (2) rural patient partners to gather with us for an all-day (8am-4pm) in-person strategic session. Lived experiences of patients will provide a valuable perspective to inform priorities for a multi-partner, multi-year proposal looking to enhance access to specialist care in rural communities across BC.

Topics of our discussion may include:
– Optimizing and scaling up specialist outreach clinics
– Provincial approaches to specialist access
– Hybrid & virtual care models
– Education – early exposure and continuing professional development
– Stabilization of acute care specialist services in mid-sized rural communities

For more information and to express interest, please contact RuralSpecialistProject@rccbc.ca

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Level of Engagement

This opportunity is at the level of Collaborate on the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation.

Eligibility

• Willing & comfortable to share health care experiences in a group setting
• Specific health care experiences [details below]
• An interest in improving health care services
• The time to participate in the engagement opportunity
• Patients living in a rural, remote or Indigenous community who have accessed, tried to accessed, or are currently accessing specialist care.

Patient Partners ARE NOT required to be PVN members to participate in this engagement opportunity.

Health Care Partner Contact Information

Chloe Hewitt Research Coordinator, Rural Specialist Project | Rural Coordination Centre of BC (604) 738-8222 RuralSpecialistProject@rccbc.ca

Interested?

Apply by October 15, 2026.

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