British Columbia is creating 200 new nurse practitioner positions in an effort to connect more residents with primary care providers.

Nurse practitioners can either work on their own or as part of a team, diagnosing patients, ordering tests and prescribing medications.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said 426 of the specialized nurses are currently working across the province, and more are needed for the government’s broader plan to improve access to care for residents, especially as the population ages.

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About 780,000 people in B.C. don’t have a primary care provider, Dix said, noting that his own family doctor recently retired so he is included in that number.

“It’s a stress for people who want to see a family doctor and face a long line up at a walk-in clinic. But also, it’s a continuity of care that’s important,” he said.

A practice with two doctors and two nurse practitioners working as a team can take twice as many patients and provide twice the care as a practice that only has two doctors, Dix said.

B.C. has been slow to integrate the highly trained nurses into the health-care system and there are only about eight nurse practitioners for every 100,000 people, he added.

In Ontario, the number is 20 nurse practitioners for every 100,000, while in the Prairie and Atlantic provinces, it’s about 16, he said.

“This is a permanent change so that we will join the 21st century in North America,” Dix said. “Other jurisdictions have recognized the role of nurse practitioners in primary care long before we have and improved the standard of care for everybody.”

Creating the new positions will cost about $115-million over the next three years.

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Dix said the province will also spend $1.2-million to create 30 new seats in nurse practitioner training programs across B.C.