The Yukon government is expanding the Find a Primary Care Provider Program, formerly known as the Find a Family Doctor Program, to include nurse practitioners.

“This expansion represents the Government of Yukon’s commitment to ensure every Yukoner has access to primary health care providers as part of a system that is person- and family-centered, culturally safe, anti-racist, accessible and integrated,” the government said today.

There are 24 nurse practitioners licensed to practise in the Yukon, up from 14 in 2020.

Connecting every Yukoner to a primary care provider who works as part of an integrated health care team is Recommendation 2.2 of the Putting People First report.

The report provided recommendations to transform the health and social services system for Yukoners. As of September 2022, 53 of the report’s 76 recommendations are in progress or fully operational.

The Find a Primary Care Provider Program connects Yukoners to health care teams and a variety of providers, including nurse practitioners.

Nurse practitioners are trained and equipped to offer primary care to most patients.

If a patient has medical needs that fall outside the scope of a nurse practitioner’s services, they will remain on the waiting list for a primary care physician.

Yukoners can apply for the Find a Primary Care Provider program at https://Yukon.ca/findprovider.

“The extension of the Find a Primary Care Provider Program supports our government’s commitment to increasing access to high-quality health care,” said Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee.

“We are building a health care system where Yukoners are better able to connect to a trusted health care system, access a variety of providers, and receive care in their community as recommended in the Putting People First report.”

Jerome M. Marburg, the CEO of the Yukon Registered Nurses Association, said its mandate is “patient safety, cultural safety and public protection.

“YRNA supports all measures aimed at enhancing access to care provided by competent and accountable health care professionals.”

Seventeen per cent of residents in the Yukon lack a family doctor, compared to 14 per cent nationally, 18 per cent in British Columbia, 21.5 per cent in Quebec, 48 per cent in the Northwest Territories, and 76.4 per cent in Nunavut.

To date, 1,357 Yukoners have been matched with a physician through the Find a Family Doctor program.

The government and the Yukon Medical Association have entered into a new three-year agreement, introducing the Access and Attachment program.

It aims to enhance access to primary and specialty care for Yukon residents while supporting physician costs.