Authors: Zohaib Nadeem, MD, Harleen Hehar, MD, Aysha Ayub, MD, Kirsten Miller, MD, FRCPC, Jenny Retallack, MD, FRCPC, Ian Warbrick, MD, FRCPC, Denise Jaworsky, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Publication date: January 2026
Health care disparities in rural and remote British Columbia have persisted over time despite efforts to improve access to care. While strategies have typically focused on improving access to primary care, discrepancies in access to specialist care remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to better understand the temporospatial distribution of general specialists in BC.
Clinician data were acquired from BC Ministry of Health Medical Services Plan reports for 2010–11 to 2022–23. The number of internal medicine specialists, pediatricians, and psychiatrists registered in each Health Service Delivery Area was analyzed over time.
In 2022–23, 1480 internal medicine specialists, 364 pediatricians, and 864 psychiatrists were registered in BC. Only 6% to 7% of specialists were registered in rural and remote areas, a pattern that has persisted despite increases in clinician numbers since 2010–11. Rural–urban discrepancies in specialist distribution in BC have persisted over the past decade. We call upon clinicians and policymakers to address this long-standing issue.
