Information for pharmacies

SA approval may be granted for full coverage of a drug or medical supply or device that is otherwise partially covered or not covered.

• SA overview
• Insulin pumps
• SA confirmation codes

Patients can track their own SA requests online in Health Gateway.

Pharmacist-initiated SA requests

Pharmacists may request SA coverage when:

• Prescribing for minor ailments or contraception
• Recommending OTC medications such as acetaminophen or NRTs
• Adapting a prescription
• Applying for exceptional Plan Z coverage
• Dispensing vancomycin following a hospital stay
• Directly employed by a BC health authority and submitting a request that is part of their health authority collaborative work with prescribers

In addition to the examples above, pharmacists can assist with requests for medication coverage where the pharmacist is not the prescriber. A pharmacist in B.C. can collaborate with a medication prescriber to create a SA draft in eForms for the prescriber to sign off and submit. For fax submissions, the SA draft must be reviewed, cosigned and submitted by the prescriber. All correspondence must be between the prescribers’ office and PharmaCare (no intermediaries).

Prescriber IDs, SA approvals, benefit status, and blood glucose certificate status are available 24/7.

• Lower Mainland: 604-682-7120
• Elsewhere in B.C., toll-free: 1-800-554-0225

Choose self-service and, when prompted, enter your College of Pharmacists ID and press #.

• For prescriber ID: press 1, enter practitioner MSP billing number and press #
• For SA information: press 2, enter patient PHN and press #
• For benefit status: press 3, enter DIN and press #
• For blood glucose certificate: press 4, enter patient PHN and press #

For more, see Help Desk self service options.