Series GR-2585 - Hospital Insurance Service research files

These are files of the Research Division of the British Columbia Hospital Insurance Service. In 1948 an "Act to provide for the Establishment of Hospital Insurance and Financial Aid to Hospitals" was passed. Accordingly, the B.C. Hospital Insurance Service was established as a third branch of the Department of Health and Welfare and tasked with administering the premium payment plan which provided hospital care benefits for acute illness at the standard ward level to residents of the province. The role of the B.C.H.I.S. quickly grew to include hospital financing, inspection, and advisory services related to hospital construction. The name of the branch changed from British Columbia Hospital Insurance Service to Hospital Programs in 1975, as part of a reorganization within the Ministry of Health. In the early years the B.C.H.I.S. was also responsible for the administration of the Welfare Institutions Licensing Act (transferred to the Dept. of Social Welfare in 1950) and the Provincial Infirmaries (transferred to the Health Branch in 1964). The Research Division was created in the second year of operation of the B.C.H.I.S. In the annual report of BCHIS for 1950 the responsibilities of the Research Division are listed as "this branch of the Service supplied all statistics necessary to the Service, which included compilation of progress and annual reports, surveys, and other information". In the 1951 annual report this description is broadened slightly, "maintained monthly progress reports, compiled statistics concerning hospitalization experience, and conducted special studies on matters related to the Service". There are two series of files, one series containing correspondence with individual hospitals and one series containing subject files. The first series in this unit, the bulk of these files, relate to individual hospitals and contain correspondence of the division with the hospitals, news releases of the ministry relating to the hospital, reports of the division relating to the individual hospitals and other research material relating to individual hospitals. The bulk of this series is from 1953-1965, with some material as late as 1975. The second series of files are subject files of the Research Division on such topics as rehabilitation, mental health, indian affairs, morbidity, social welfare, and pediatrics. The bulk of this series is from 1953-1962, with some material as late as 1977. Individual Hospital Series (Boxes 1-12) Subject Files (Boxes 12-15)