Transition to family health teams improves access to primary care, says Horizon, Vitalité – CBC
More than 36,000 doctorless patients now connected to a team, with goal of all New Brunswickers by 2029
Jun 27, 2025
New Brunswick’s two regional health authorities say the transition of primary care to family health teams has opened up access for tens of thousands of doctorless patients, with more to come.
Horizon and Vitalité have also set ambitious targets for how quickly patients can get an appointment, and have already seen improvements, according to the latest quarterly data, which covers April through June.
It comes amid a new survey from the New Brunswick Health Council that shows 77 per cent of people had a permanent primary care provider last year.
That’s down two per cent from the previous year, but it’s the first time in years there hasn’t been a sharp decrease, according to council CEO Stéphane Robichaud. He believes the province’s shift to collaborative care clinics could be slowing the decline.
