Chilliwack had the shortest wait times in B.C. in 2023, averaging 44 minutes to see a walk-in clinic doctor, according to tech platform Medimap.
B.C. residents overall however experienced the longest average wait times in Canada in 2023, but among the cities with the shortest wait, Chilliwack led the pack (44 minutes), followed by Abbotsford (55) and then Vancouver (62).
The longest B.C. waits were in North Van (187) and Victoria (107).
“B.C. has an unusual problem on its hands in that recent changes to the physician payment model have resulted in some walk-in clinics actually closing - exacerbating the very problem the change was trying to address,” said Thomas Jankowski, CEO of Medimap.
READ MORE: B.C. had highest walk-in clinic wait times
The national average last year was a 68 minute-wait, up by 31 minutes from 2022 when the average wait time was 37 minutes.
On average British Columbians had 93 minutes to wait to see a doctor at a walk-in clinic, compared to Ontarians who waited an average of 59 minutes .
The Medimap Walk-in Clinic Wait Time Index uses data that comes from the majority of walk-in clinics across Canada that use the company’s software to publish wait times online, according to the company’s web page.
Medimap users can type in the care they’re seeking and location, and are given a list of health care options or clinics near them. Medimap also provides pharmacies that can offer treatments to those who were seeking a walk-in clinic, with the hopes of mitigating clinic traffic and lessening the burden on the health-care system.
