Information for Pharmacists and Other Medical Suppliers

New!

• H1N1 Flu Virus information for health care providers
• Copy of the Interim Agreement between the Ministry of Health Services and the BC Pharmacy Association including related policies ^{(PDF 105K)} — This agreement, signed December 12, 2008, includes a process for remunerating pharmacies for clinical services associated with adapting and renewing prescriptions, and two new PharmaCare policies that will generate the savings necessary to fund clinical services fees and provide additional savings to be used in the PharmaCare program.
• Clinical Services Associated With Prescription Adaptation Agreement — To qualify for payment of clinical services fees, all B.C. pharmacies are required to sign this agreement.
• Authorization for Frequent Dispensing ^{(PDF 545K)}
• Frequency of Dispensing Policy - Product Exemptions ^{(PDF 73K)}
• PharmaCare Patient Information Sheets
  • Fair PharmaCare Plan ^{(PDF 540K)}
  • Fair PharmaCare Plan for New Residents ^{(PDF 367K)}
  • Prosthetic and Orthotic Program ^{(PDF 368K)}

Drug Reviews and Submission Requirements

• Drug Review Results—To be considered for inclusion as PharmaCare benefits, all drugs must be reviewed. This section of our site provides information on drugs under review by PharmaCare on or after January 1, 2005.
• Drug Submission Requirements—Manufacturers must apply to PharmaCare to have their product considered for inclusion as a benefit. Our Drug Submission Requirements outline the process by which new drug products, line extensions, resubmissions, new indications and generic products are considered for inclusion as benefits.

Benefit Information – Drugs and Medical Supplies

• Authorization for Frequent Dispensing
• Frequency of Dispensing Policy - Product Exemptions ^{(PDF 73K)}
• Multiple-Source Generic Drug Pricing Policy—Product List
• Product Identification Numbers – PharmaCare assigns Product Identification Numbers (PINs) to benefits to which Health Canada has not assigned a Drug Identification Number and for medical supplies:
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Diabetes
    • Blood Glucose Test Strips
    • Diabetes Supplies
    • Insulin Pumps
    • Insulin Pump Supplies
  • Methadone
  • Miscellaneous Products
  • Ostomy Supplies
  • Pharmaceutical Products
  • Prosthetics and Orthotics
• Correct Quantities for PharmaCare Claims (PDF 60.3 Kb)
• Low Cost Alternative/Reference Drug Program Booklets
• Special Authority Drugs (includes Limited Coverage Drug, Reference Drug Program, No‑Charge Psychiatric Medication Plan and Alzheimer's Drug Therapy Initiative)
• Trial Prescription Program Drugs
• Downloadable Drug Data Files
• Cross-reference of common brand/generic drug names.

Policies & Procedures Manual

• PharmaCare/PharmaNet: Policies and Procedures Manual—This manual includes supplements for prosthetic and orthotic suppliers and for medical suppliers not connected to PharmaNet.
• Prosthetic and Orthotic Program General Statement of Program Policy

Newsletters and Bulletins

• PharmaCare Newsletters provide updated information on PharmaCare policies, drug coverage, audit issues, etc.  
• PharmaNet Bulletins provide information related to the PharmaNet system, the provincewide prescription claim processing network that links community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies and other health care providers to a central set of databases at the Ministry of Health Services.
• Newsletter/Bulletin Notification Service—Sign up to receive an e-mail notification whenever a PharmaCare Newsletter or PharmaNet Bulletin is posted on our website.

PharmaNet

• About PharmaNet
• Access to PharmaNet and PharmaNet's Role in Electronic Health Records

Annual Performance Reports

• Pharmaceutical Services Division Annual Performance Report 2006 ^{(PDF 2.0M)}
• PharmaCare Annual Performance Report 2005 (PDF 1Mb)

Studies and Reviews

• Report of the Pharmaceutical Task Force - April 2008 ^{(PDF 3.9M)}
• Activity-Based Costing Study Report - January 2007 (PDF 3.9 Mb)
• Report of the Reference Drug Program Consultation Panel 2002 (PDF 127 Kb)