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Asian trip's aims include medical tourism and shared research

There are no immediate plans to move patients between British Columbia and other jurisdictions, but there may be opportunities to work with people in India on medical research, the province's Health Minister Michael de Jong said.

"Medical tourism is not just about patients moving around," he said discussing why he's joining Premier Christy Clark on the trade mission leaving for Asia on Nov. 4. "It is [also] about research opportunities and joint research opportunities that might exist. We're not going to shy away from those discussions."

Former Health Minister Kevin Falcon in 2009 defended the possibility of bringing patients from Saskatchewan to B.C. for surgeries, an idea met with criticism as "medical tourism" in both provinces.

Asked about possibilities for similar arrangements arising from the Asian trade mission, de Jong said, "There will be some discussion around that and some of the opportunities that may exist for joint research in fields."

In particular it would make sense to work together on things like diabetes and chronic heart disease that affect British Columbians of South Asian descent at a higher rate than they do others in the province, he said.

The Liberals should abandon the idea of selling health services to people from other jurisdictions as it will make health care resources less available to the British Columbians who fund the system, said New Democratic Party Leader Adrian Dix.

It's telling that Falcon's plan is yet to result in patients coming to B.C. for service, Dix said. "His idea, perhaps fortunately, is collapsing because of its own lack of merit."

As for research, Dix said India has a thriving university sector and there may well be opportunities, but it would be better to support the work here.

"Obviously we need to take steps to support and promote research in B.C.," he said. "The government has pulled back from building the knowledge economy here."

The provincial government has cut funding to the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and has declined to give it stable funding, Dix said.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.


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