Primary health care serves a dual function:

1. Direct provision of first-contact health care services — treating illness, injury, and providing preventative care.

2. Coordination of patients' health care services — ensuring continuity of care and ease of movement across the health care system when specialized services are needed (e.g., referrals to specialists or hospitals).

암기 필수 — P·C·U·A·P

1. Public Administration — The plan must be administered on a non-profit basis by a public authority accountable to the provincial/territorial government.

2. Comprehensiveness — All medically necessary services provided by hospitals, physicians, and hospital-based dentists must be covered.

3. Universality — All insured persons are entitled to coverage on uniform terms and conditions.

4. Accessibility — Insured persons must have reasonable access to services without financial or other barriers. Extra billing and user fees are discouraged.

5. Portability — Coverage is maintained when a person moves to another province/territory or travels abroad.

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Condition 1: The health care insurance plan of a province must be administered and operated on a non-profit basis by a public authority appointed or designated by the provincial government.

Condition 2: The public authority must be responsible (accountable) to the provincial government for that administration and operation.

Assisted Living is for people who can still make decisions independently but need support with daily activities. They live in their own private unit and pay 70% of after-tax income.

Long-Term Care is for people with complex needs who can no longer safely live on their own, even with support. It provides 24-hour nursing supervision and costs 80% of after-tax income.

Key difference: decision-making capacity and level of independence.

Most Canadian hospitals are funded through annual global budgets — negotiated with provincial/territorial ministries of health or regional health authorities — that set overall expenditure targets or limits.

This is distinct from a fee-for-service model. Some provinces have been experimenting with supplementary funding approaches.

Most hospitals are operated by community boards of trustees, voluntary organizations, or regional health authorities.

Supplementary benefits

The following are not generally covered under the publicly funded system:

• Prescription drugs (outside hospitals)
• Dental care
• Vision care
• Medical equipment and appliances (prostheses, wheelchairs)
• Services of other health professionals such as physiotherapists

Provinces may cover some of these for seniors, children, and low-income residents. Others pay through out-of-pocket payments or private health insurance.

Level of care is determined by the intensity of effort required to diagnose, treat, preserve, or maintain an individual's physical or emotional status.

Levels of service are based on the patient's condition and the needed level of care, used to identify and verify that the patient is receiving care at the appropriate level.

Regional health authorities (VCH, Fraser, Interior, Island, Northern) each serve a defined geographic region and provide a full range of health services to the population in that area.

PHSA (Provincial Health Services Authority) is unique in Canada as the only health authority with a province-wide mandate for specialized health services. It operates programs like BC Cancer, BC Children's Hospital, BC Transplant, and BC Women's Hospital — serving all of BC regardless of region.

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The federal government directly delivers health services to:

• First Nations people living on reserves
• Inuit in certain communities
• Serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces
• Eligible veterans
• Inmates in federal penitentiaries
• Some groups of refugee claimants

1. Independent Living (IL) — No major health issues; fully self-sufficient. Does not need help with ADLs.

2. Assisted Living (ASL) — Can live independently but needs help with some ADLs. Round-the-clock care available. Cost: 70% of after-tax income.

3. Long-Term Care (LTC) — Cannot live independently. Requires 24-hour care. Limited availability with variable waitlists. Cost: 80% of after-tax income.