Ministry of Health
Caregiver and Patient Group Eligibility Requirements
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Caregiver eligibility requirements
You can provide input if you are both a:
- resident of British Columbia
- caregiver to someone who has been diagnosed with the specific medical condition(s) or circumstance (known as an "indication") for which the drug under review would be used
Caregiver: a definition
For our purposes, a caregiver is a person who provides regular ongoing care to an individual patient. The caregiver may be a:
- Family member (child, parent, niece, nephew, etc.)
- Person hired to provide care in the patient’s home (e.g., a home care worker, a practical nurse)
- Person hired to provide individualized, supplementary care to a person in a hospital or care facility (e.g., hospice, residential care facility)*
- Volunteer who provides ongoing care to a patient either at home or in a hospital or care facility (e.g., a volunteer hospice worker, etc.)
* For example, nurses who provide care to groups of patients in a hospital are not considered caregivers. Nurses who have been hired to provide care to individual patients, however, are considered as caregivers and can complete a Caregiver questionnaire.
Patient Group eligibility requirements
To provide input, patient groups must:
- represent British Columbia residents diagnosed with the specific medical condition(s) or circumstance (known as an “indication”) for which the drug would be used, and
- have registered with the Ministry of Health
Patient group: a definition
For our purposes, a patient group is a not-for-profit entity whose primary purpose is to advocate for the patients it represents. Organizations may have other purposes, but patient advocacy must be a primary goal. For example, an organization of health care professionals that works with a particular patient group but does not actively advocate for them on an ongoing basis is not considered as a patient group.
If you are not sure whether your group qualifies as a patient group, contact us via e-mail at pim@gov.bc.ca.
Why do patient groups need to register?
Patient groups are asked to register and have their organization's name added to our website to ensure that the group represents British Columbia residents who have the condition for which the drug under review would be used.
Not sure your group is registered? Check our List of Registered patient groups.
Not yet registered? Use our registration form.
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