Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement

The Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement  between the B.C. Government, Doctors of BC and the Medical Services Commission aims to enhance patient care and availability of physician services in rural and remote areas of B.C., by addressing unique and challenging clinical circumstances encountered by rural physicians.

Eligible Communities

Community eligibility for the Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement is determined by evaluating its level of isolation. The following criteria are used to complete this evaluation:

• Number of designated specialties within 70 km
• Number of general practitioners within 35 km
• Community size
• Distance from major medical community
• Degree of latitude
• Specialist Centre
• Location arc

Each of these criteria are applied to the community independently of one another and a set number of points are awarded to the community. These points are then used to assign the community to one of four categories:

• 20 or more points: “A” community
• Between 15 and 19.99 points: “B” community
• Between 1.5 and 14.99 points: “C” community
• Between 0.1 and 1.49 points: “D” community

The category assignment for each community determines eligibility for support through Rural Practice Programs. View a complete list of communities eligible for support.

• Rural Practice Subsidiary Agreement Communities & Rural Retention Program Point List

Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues

A Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues (JSC), with representation from both the provincial government and Doctors of BC, develops and manages physician programs under the current subsidiary agreement. Learn more about the committee.

• Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues Terms of Reference