LOG IN to the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website for access to UpToDate, which is provided free-of-charge as a member benefit to Richmond Division members. The provincial website is different from the Richmond Division of Family Practice website.
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MOBILE APP ACCESS Download RxFilesPLUS from the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android). Log in with your RxFiles credentials and tap Check for Updates every 3–6 months.
LOG IN to the provincial Divisions of Family Practice website for access to UpToDate, which is provided free-of-charge as a member benefit to Richmond Division members
The Richmond PCN (Primary Care Network) is dedicated to supporting family doctors and their patients through coordinated care, community resources, and personalized support. By connecting physicians with social workers, clinical counsellors, and community link workers, the Richmond PCN helps improve patient outcomes while making it easier for doctors to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care.
From Career Loss to Community Impact
Anthony Yip travelled the world for his management job in IT with the global inter-banking company Swift. That all changed in 2016 when a stroke cost him not only his ability to communicate, but also his whole career.
“I lost everything,” he says, able to speak again now after years of hard work. “I lost my work, lost all of my friends, lost everything.” Despite several attempts through WorkBC, Yip says nobody would hire him.
“I didn’t want to give up, and I didn’t want to do nothing. This is very important.”
Luckily, Yip’s family physician Dr. David Fung referred him to PCN Clinical Counsellor Shirley Lai and PCN Social Worker Athina Lai. Upon assessment, these PCN clinicians looped Community Link Worker Sean Canasa into Yip’s circle of care.
Finding Purpose Through the Richmond PCN and Volunteer Work
“Sean and Athina have helped me a lot. They are always calling me, reminding me to go someplace, helping me in so many ways to learn how to help myself.”
Yip still carries the original list of volunteer roles that Sean had printed for consideration. One of those jobs relied on Yip’s IT experience and seemed a perfect fit. For the past year, he has been visiting Connections Community Services weekly to teach seniors how to use various technology and devices in the Digital Literacy Program for Seniors.
“It is a way that I can still help people,” says Yip.
Yip’s skills and dedication have garnered attention. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie presented him with the nomination-based U-Roc Award from the City of Richmond as an Asset Champion for Community Support, and he was interviewed by Chris Yuen on Radio AM1470.
Beyond connecting him to this role, Canasa supported Yip with the application process including a criminal record check, and aligned him with exercise programs and educational workshops at the Richmond Stroke Recovery Centre.
“I invite doctors to send more patients to Sean because he is so kind, and because so many people need this kind of support,” says Yip. “Without him, many people wouldn’t know how to find out these things.”
Family physicians interested in improving patient care through coordinated support are invited to learn more about joining Richmond Primary Care Networks.
Social Prescribing in Richmond connects patients to meaningful community resources that improve their health, well-being, and social connections. Through Richmond’s PCN Community Link program, family doctors can link patients to tailored services, whether it’s volunteer opportunities, fresh food delivery, or support navigating essential systems, helping them thrive
How the Program Transforms Lives
Sometimes, it’s a few new walking buddies, delivery of fresh veggies, a volunteer opportunity, or someone to help with taxes that turns a life around.
Richmond’s PCN Community Link Worker connects your patients to special services throughout our community, and it’s having a profound impact on their ability to thrive. Patients are reporting improved physical and emotional well-being, social connections, and ease of navigating essential systems. This program, sometimes known as social prescribing, has received more than 200 referrals since the program started in October 2022.
In the year they have been working together, Community Link Worker Sean Canasa has formed a strong bond with Anthony Yip. Read Anthony’s story.
“I invite doctors to send more patients to Sean because he is so kind, and because so many people need this kind of support,” says Yip. “Without him, many people wouldn’t know how to find out these things.”
Through the Community Link Worker, the Richmond Division and Richmond Primary Care Networks have had the opportunity to develop strong relationships with key community partners throughout Richmond.
PCN Community Link Highlights from 2023–24:
Beyond providing direct client care, the program has become a respected platform for collaboration, outreach, advocacy, and engagement with other many community organizations throughout Richmond.
100+ client outreach appointments have been completed in the community, many of them with life-changing results.
The program is scheduled to deliver several community workshops about the PCN, accessing care, finding a family doctor, and accessing community exercise programs. Workshops are booked with SUCCESS Richmond, the South Arm Community Centre Seniors Program, and the Richmond Community Respiratory Program.
Richmond’s Social Prescribing program demonstrates how connecting patients to community resources can transform lives. By partnering with the PCN Community Link Worker, family doctors can enhance patient care, improve outcomes, and foster stronger community ties.
The Richmond Health Connect Registry helps unattached residents connect with family physicians and nurse practitioners, improving access to primary care and supporting better health outcomes. By streamlining patient-provider connections, the Registry reduces strain on emergency departments and walk-in clinics while ensuring Richmond residents receive timely, coordinated care.
Expanding Access to Primary Care in Richmond
With new Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners ready to accept patients, the Province has expanded the Health Connect Registry to all communities throughout B.C.
“As one of the first communities in B.C. who adopted the Health Connect Registry in 2021, the Richmond Primary Care Network was able to expand access to care for Richmond residents,” explains Jorge Hernández, Program Lead with the Richmond Division of Family Practice and Richmond Primary Care Networks. “Its adoption also meant an important step in reducing the strain on emergency departments and walk-in clinics, improving health outcomes for individuals, and supporting a meaningful and positive health experience for patients and providers.”
The recent expansion of the Health Connect Registry allows more unattached residents to register in Richmond.
Connecting Patients with Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners
“Our Attachment team is working to decrease the attachment gap in Richmond by using accurate and accessible information from the Health Connect Registry,” explains Hernández.
Patients can be connected to a primary care provider based on health needs, the provider’s ability to take on those needs, and the region.
“The Health Connect Registry is a crucial action that delivers on our government’s commitment to strengthen health care, and it will help us provide better, easier access to primary care for generations to come,” says B.C. Minister of Health Adrian Dix.
“Between the new doctors who signed up with our new-to-practice incentive program, doctors who are joining the new payment model, new Nurse Practitioners and the many more to come, we are ensuring people throughout the province can connect with those primary care providers and others as medical professionals enter family practice and build their patient panel,” he adds.
The Health Connect Registry is the patient-facing side of the Province’s action plan to strengthen primary care and to better connect people to primary care providers. That plan includes:
a new Family Physician compensation model to attract and retain Family Physicians, which has nearly 3,300 signups.
a new-to-practice incentive program that has 156 new family doctors registered.
a new provincial roster for individual Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to manage their patient panel information, and to identify when they can accept new patients.
a new clinic and provider registry for medical directors and staff to provide information about their clinics so that the government can better support practitioner needs.
working directly with Doctors of BC and Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC to support Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners with new registries.
adding more coordinators who will help connect Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners to patients locally.
more incentives for clinics, Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners.
a broader health human resources strategy to recruit and retain more health professionals to ensure British Columbians get the health services they need and are cared for by a healthy workforce.
providing more support for new team-based primary care in family practice clinics, urgent and primary-care centres, community health centres, nurse practitioner clinics and First Nations primary-care clinics.
Through the registry, B.C. will have a comprehensive list of who is looking for a primary care provider and who already has one, as well as which providers and clinics can accept new patients. Starting Nov. 30, 2023, and continuing quarterly, the Province will report on progress to add more Family Physicians and Nurse Practitioners, and on connecting more patients from the registry to a primary care provider.
Since its adoption in 2021, the Richmond Health Connect Registry has expanded access to primary care, supported new providers entering family practice, and enhanced patient attachment across the community. Through incentives, registries, and coordinated efforts, the program enables residents to find a primary care provider based on their health needs and helps clinics manage patient panels more effectively.
Whether you are a patient looking for a family physician or nurse practitioner, a healthcare professional seeking to join Richmond’s primary care team, or a clinic administrator, explore the Richmond Health Connect Registry today to discover how it can support your connection to primary care in Richmond.
The Richmond Primary Care Networks are transforming everyday health care for residents by bringing together family physicians, nurse practitioners, and allied health professionals in a coordinated, team-based approach. These networks aim to improve access, enhance patient care, and provide greater support to family doctors across Richmond.
Transforming Primary Care in Richmond
The B.C. Ministry of Health has announced its plan to transform everyday health care for Richmond residents by establishing three Primary Care Networks (PCNs) designed to bring additional health care resources and support to the city.
Up to 70 new health care providers will be recruited to support the transformation, including Family Physicians (FPs), Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) such as Physiotherapists and Clinical Pharmacists.
“We know that many people living within Richmond have had challenges getting access to the everyday health care they need for themselves and their families,” says Adrian Dix, Minister of Health. “Creating these Primary Care Networks will allow health care professionals to work together in a team-based environment to help address long-standing gaps in primary care access for people in this community.”
The three networks will be the Richmond West, Richmond City Centre and Richmond East PCNs. Each PCN partners new and existing health care professionals with the health authority and community organizations as part of a networked, team-based approach to providing care.
“This is a time of unprecedented change and opportunity for family medicine, and the Richmond Division of Family Practice is eager to work toward a more accessible and coordinated system of primary care through the development of primary care networks,” says Dr. Rachila Sharma Aucone, Board Chair, Richmond Divisions of Family Practice. “This initiative will provide team-based care to our patients and greater support to family doctors practicing in Richmond.”
Each network will provide a full range of accessible, everyday health services, such as maternity or end-of-life care, to better support patients and providers. Together, these PCNs will see community partners work to attach tens of thousands of patients in Richmond to regular primary care.
Expanding Access with Team-Based Care
“Vancouver Coastal Health is constantly looking at how we can expand and enhance services to better care for clients in need in our communities, when and where they need it,” says Mary Ackenhusen, President and CEO of Vancouver Coastal Health. “These networks will bring together and coordinate health care providers, services, and programs, making it easier for Richmond residents to access care providers, to receive follow-up, and to connect to other services they may need. We are excited to be a part of this new model of care serving our Richmond community.”
The three networks in Richmond were developed to better meet the community’s specific needs. These priority needs include:
increased attachment for Richmond residents to a regular primary care provider
enhanced coordination of primary and community services with a focus on improving care for seniors
enhanced cultural safety and culturally appropriate care for Indigenous and immigrant residents
increased team-based resources to better meet the needs of people with mild to moderate chronic disease/conditions. These resources include health promotion services that respond to population health needs.
The Richmond Primary Care Networks initiative is a partnership between the Ministry of Health, Vancouver Coastal Health and the Richmond Division of Family Practice.
The Ministry of Health will provide approximately $15 million in annual funding to the Richmond region by the third year, as net new positions are added and as patients are attached.
With three new networks—Richmond West, Richmond City Centre, and Richmond East—residents will have improved access to primary care, including maternity, end-of-life, and chronic disease management services. By integrating community partners, cultural safety initiatives, and enhanced resources, the Richmond Primary Care Networks are connecting patients to regular care and supporting providers with team-based services designed to meet the city’s unique health needs.
Learn more about the Richmond Primary Care Networks and how they can benefit you—whether you are a patient seeking a primary care provider, a family doctor or allied health professional looking to join, or a community partner interested in collaboration.
