Looking at both sides

New Zealand’s health sector is giving a few lessons to its British Columbia counterpart, which sent delegates out in November 2008 to learn about the country’s co-payment system, drug policy and its emphasis on primary care. There are some areas where innovations from New Zealand, or co-operating with the country, would likely be welcome to British Columbians. Drug policy, for example, is one area where New Zealand and B.C. are working closely together, said the assistant deputy minister in charge of Pharmacare Bob Nakagawa. The most controversial idea the B.C. team brought back is co-payment, where a patient pays a fee every time they see their doctor or have any contact with the health system. It’s not something the panellists were talking seriously about implementing here, but it is something they were talking about.