{
  "id": "regular-health-care-provider",
  "category": "Health care access",
  "title": "Adults in B.C. with a regular health care provider",
  "geography": "British Columbia (province-wide), with older Victoria-area estimates for context",
  "scope": "province",
  "levels": [
    "Provincial (health system)"
  ],
  "plain_question": "Out of every 100 adults in B.C., how many say they have a family doctor or nurse practitioner they see regularly?",
  "value": 79.9,
  "display_value": "79.9%",
  "unit": "% of adults 18 and over",
  "period": "Calendar year 2024",
  "period_start": "2024-01-01",
  "period_end": "2024-12-31",
  "comparison": {
    "previous_period": "Calendar year 2023",
    "previous_value": 81.6,
    "change_percent": -1.7,
    "change_unit": "percentage points"
  },
  "significance": {
    "significant": false,
    "margin": 2.3,
    "text": "95% confidence intervals: 78.0–81.6% in 2024, 80.1–82.9% in 2023. The -1.7-point change is smaller than the combined margin of about 2.3 points, so it is not statistically significant."
  },
  "breaks": [
    {
      "period": "2022",
      "label": "Survey redesigned"
    }
  ],
  "ci": [
    {
      "period": "2015",
      "low": 82.2,
      "high": 85.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2016",
      "low": 81.6,
      "high": 84.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2017",
      "low": 80.4,
      "high": 83.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2018",
      "low": 80.2,
      "high": 83.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2019",
      "low": 80.7,
      "high": 83.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2020",
      "low": 78.5,
      "high": 82.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2021",
      "low": 81.4,
      "high": 84.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2022",
      "low": 81.8,
      "high": 84.5
    },
    {
      "period": "2023",
      "low": 80.1,
      "high": 82.9
    },
    {
      "period": "2024",
      "low": 78.0,
      "high": 81.6
    }
  ],
  "trend": "roughly_flat",
  "trend_basis": "79.9% in 2024 (95% confidence interval 78.0–81.6%) compared with 81.6% in 2023 (80.1–82.9%). The change is within the survey's margin of error.",
  "direction_good": "up",
  "right_direction": "A higher number means more adults have a regular health care provider.",
  "caveats": [
    "This comes from a Statistics Canada survey, so it is an estimate with a margin of error (shown as confidence intervals in the table). Changes smaller than the margin are labelled “About the same”.",
    "Survey redesign in 2022 (marked on the chart): Statistics Canada introduced a redesigned questionnaire and a new collection method in 2022 and advises caution when comparing 2022 and later with earlier years. No change is calculated across that break.",
    "Victoria-area figures exist only as older two-year estimates for people 12 and over, in tables Statistics Canada has since stopped updating: South Vancouver Island health service delivery area 75.4% in 2021/22 (confidence interval 72.0–78.5%), Victoria census metropolitan area 74.9% (71.4–78.1%), compared with 83.2% for B.C. The 2021/22 estimate pools two years collected in different ways, so treat it with caution.",
    "From the 2025 survey year, Statistics Canada publishes a related but different indicator, “has a primary health care provider” (table 13-10-0986-01), for provinces only. It is not comparable with this series, so it is not added to the chart."
  ],
  "charts": [
    {
      "title": "Adults with a regular health care provider, B.C.",
      "fmt": "dec1",
      "unit": "%",
      "breaks": [
        {
          "period": "2022",
          "label": "Survey redesigned"
        }
      ],
      "lines": [
        {
          "name": "British Columbia (18+)",
          "area": "bc",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2015",
              "value": 83.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2016",
              "value": 83.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2017",
              "value": 81.8
            },
            {
              "period": "2018",
              "value": 81.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2019",
              "value": 82.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2020",
              "value": 80.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2021",
              "value": 83.1
            },
            {
              "period": "2022",
              "value": 83.2
            },
            {
              "period": "2023",
              "value": 81.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2024",
              "value": 79.9
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Older two-year estimates: Victoria area compared with B.C. (12+)",
      "fmt": "dec1",
      "unit": "%",
      "lines": [
        {
          "name": "South Vancouver Island",
          "area": "island",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2015/16",
              "value": 81.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2017/18",
              "value": 75.9
            },
            {
              "period": "2019/20",
              "value": 71.6
            },
            {
              "period": "2021/22",
              "value": 75.4
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "Victoria (CMA)",
          "area": "cma",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2015/16",
              "value": 81.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2017/18",
              "value": 75.5
            },
            {
              "period": "2019/20",
              "value": 71.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2021/22",
              "value": 74.9
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "name": "British Columbia",
          "area": "bc",
          "series": [
            {
              "period": "2015/16",
              "value": 83.4
            },
            {
              "period": "2017/18",
              "value": 82.0
            },
            {
              "period": "2019/20",
              "value": 81.7
            },
            {
              "period": "2021/22",
              "value": 83.2
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "breakdown_title": "Victoria area (older two-year estimates)",
  "breakdown": [
    {
      "label": "South Vancouver Island health service delivery area",
      "value": 75.4,
      "display_value": "75.4%",
      "period": "2021/22",
      "detail": "95% confidence interval 72.0–78.5%. People 12 and over. Statistics Canada table 13-10-0113-01 (no longer updated)."
    },
    {
      "label": "Victoria census metropolitan area",
      "value": 74.9,
      "display_value": "74.9%",
      "period": "2021/22",
      "detail": "95% confidence interval 71.4–78.1%. People 12 and over. Statistics Canada table 13-10-0805-01 (no longer updated)."
    }
  ],
  "series": [
    {
      "period": "2015",
      "value": 83.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2016",
      "value": 83.0
    },
    {
      "period": "2017",
      "value": 81.8
    },
    {
      "period": "2018",
      "value": 81.7
    },
    {
      "period": "2019",
      "value": 82.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2020",
      "value": 80.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2021",
      "value": 83.1
    },
    {
      "period": "2022",
      "value": 83.2
    },
    {
      "period": "2023",
      "value": 81.6
    },
    {
      "period": "2024",
      "value": 79.9
    }
  ],
  "refresh_frequency": "Annually",
  "data_published": "2025-08-06",
  "source": {
    "name": "Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey (tables 13-10-0905-01; Victoria-area context from 13-10-0113-01 and 13-10-0805-01)",
    "url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310090501",
    "dataset_url": "https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/07bf1adb-c6a5-4e91-8911-5565f4e38e0f",
    "table_url": "https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310090501",
    "table": "13-10-0905-01",
    "publisher_page": "https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/survey/household/3226",
    "locator": "Statistics Canada table 13-10-0905-01: British Columbia, has a regular health care provider, 18 and over, percent, 2024"
  },
  "licence": {
    "name": "Open Government Licence - Canada",
    "url": "https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada"
  },
  "attribution": "Adapted from Statistics Canada, table 13-10-0905-01. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.",
  "retrieved_at": "2026-11-11T10:19:08Z",
  "licence_type": "open",
  "status_rule": {
    "rule": "One rule for every measure: a change smaller than 5% of the earlier value, or smaller than the agency's own margin of error, is “About the same”; no change is calculated across a marked break in a series; homelessness estimates, prices, staffing and comparison pages are shown for context without a label.",
    "reason": "95% confidence intervals: 78.0–81.6% in 2024, 80.1–82.9% in 2023. The -1.7-point change is smaller than the combined margin of about 2.3 points, so it is not statistically significant.",
    "threshold_percent": 5.0
  },
  "changes": {
    "year": {
      "period": "Calendar year 2023",
      "value": 81.6,
      "text": "vs 2023: -1.7 points"
    },
    "five_year": {
      "period": "2019",
      "years": 5,
      "value": 82.1,
      "comparable": false,
      "text": "vs 2019: not comparable"
    }
  },
  "direction": {
    "type": "outcome",
    "rule": "Outcome measures read Better, Worse or About the same; published government targets read Ahead of, On or Behind target; value-judgement measures read Rising, Falling or Steady in a neutral colour. A change smaller than the agency's own margin of error, or otherwise smaller than 5% of the earlier value, is About the same (or Steady). No change is calculated across a marked break in a series.",
    "key": "same",
    "label": "About the same",
    "arrow": "▼",
    "rel": -2.0833333333333197,
    "delta": -1.6999999999999886,
    "vs": "Calendar year 2023",
    "cur": "Calendar year 2024",
    "why": "95% confidence intervals: 78.0–81.6% in 2024, 80.1–82.9% in 2023. The -1.7-point change is smaller than the combined margin of about 2.3 points, so it is not statistically significant.",
    "change": "1.7 pt",
    "one_year": "−1.7 pt",
    "five": {
      "period": "2019",
      "comparable": false,
      "text": "not comparable",
      "years": 5
    },
    "sig_based": true
  },
  "source_tier": 1,
  "measure_kind": "outcome",
  "better_measure": {
    "what": "People waiting for a family doctor, by community",
    "who_could_publish": "Province of B.C. (Ministry of Health)",
    "status": "Not published as data. Not asked for yet."
  },
  "benchmark": {
    "rung": 5,
    "rung_name": "No target found",
    "as_of": "2026-11-12",
    "items": [
      {
        "kind": "related",
        "label": "Related target",
        "text": "Related target, not drawn: the Ministry of Health 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan aims for 78% of British Columbians to be attached to a family doctor or nurse practitioner in 2026/27, rising to 80% in 2028/29. It counts people on the Province’s attachment lists, not survey answers, so it is not drawn on this survey chart.",
        "area": "British Columbia",
        "source": {
          "title": "Ministry of Health 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan",
          "publisher": "Province of B.C.",
          "date": "February 2026",
          "url": "https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2026/sp/pdf/ministry/hlth.pdf",
          "terms": "https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/home/copyright",
          "refresh": "Yearly, with the provincial budget (February)",
          "licence": "Public document, not under an open licence. Quoted with attribution.",
          "checked": "2026-11-12",
          "key": "moh_sp",
          "page": 8
        },
        "documents_checked": null
      },
      {
        "kind": "compare",
        "label": "Comparison, not a goal",
        "area": null,
        "source": null,
        "documents_checked": null,
        "text": "The British Columbia line is shown for comparison. It is not a goal."
      }
    ],
    "drawn": [],
    "rule": "Highest rung found is shown; the site never sets a target. Methods, Targets."
  },
  "benchmarks": [
    {
      "rung": 2,
      "kind": "related",
      "label": "Related target, not drawn: the Ministry of Health 2026/27 to 2028/29 Service Plan aims for 78% of British Columbians to be attached to a family doctor or nurse practitioner in 2026/27, rising to 80% in 2028/29. It counts people on the Province’s attachment lists, not survey answers, so it is not drawn on this survey chart.",
      "short": null,
      "document": "moh_sp",
      "page": 8,
      "area": "British Columbia",
      "fit": "text_only",
      "same_area": false,
      "related_reason": "Different unit, definition, period or area; written under the chart, not drawn.",
      "document_url": "https://www.bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2026/sp/pdf/ministry/hlth.pdf",
      "applies_here": false,
      "same_measure": false
    },
    {
      "rung": 4,
      "kind": "comparison",
      "label": "The British Columbia line is shown for comparison. It is not a goal.",
      "fit": "full",
      "drawn": true,
      "area": null,
      "applies_here": false,
      "same_measure": true
    }
  ],
  "highest_rung": 4,
  "decided_by": [
    {
      "body": "BC",
      "name": "Province of B.C.",
      "decides": "Runs the Medical Services Plan through the Medical Services Commission, sets standards for health services and appoints Island Health’s board.",
      "laws": [
        {
          "key": "mpa3",
          "label": "Medicare Protection Act, s. 3",
          "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96286_01#section3"
        },
        {
          "key": "haa3",
          "label": "Health Authorities Act, s. 3",
          "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96180_01#section3"
        },
        {
          "key": "haa4",
          "label": "Health Authorities Act, s. 4",
          "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96180_01#section4"
        }
      ],
      "last": null,
      "next": null
    },
    {
      "body": "IH",
      "name": "Island Health",
      "decides": "Plans and runs health services in the region: which services, which facilities and the programs that deliver them.",
      "laws": [
        {
          "key": "haa5",
          "label": "Health Authorities Act, s. 5",
          "url": "https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96180_01#section5"
        }
      ],
      "last": null,
      "next": null
    },
    {
      "body": "CAN",
      "name": "Government of Canada and Parliament",
      "decides": "Pays the Canada Health Transfer to the Province, on the conditions set in the Canada Health Act.",
      "laws": [
        {
          "key": "fpfaa",
          "label": "Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act, Part V.1",
          "url": "https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/F-8/FullText.html"
        },
        {
          "key": "cha",
          "label": "Canada Health Act, s. 5 and 7",
          "url": "https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-6/FullText.html"
        }
      ],
      "last": null,
      "next": null
    }
  ],
  "main_decision_maker": "Province of B.C.",
  "label_1y": {
    "key": "same",
    "label": "About the same"
  },
  "label_long": {
    "key": "nc",
    "label": "Not comparable",
    "years": 5,
    "change": "not comparable"
  },
  "target_line": {
    "form": 5,
    "text": "Related target only",
    "target": null,
    "gap": null,
    "comparison": null,
    "applies_here": false,
    "note": null
  }
}