Medical Services Plan
Last updated on August 12, 2025The policies and procedures for enrolling with MSP and receiving payment for the medical services provided to patients vary from one type of practitioner to the next. Find resources and information related to your specific type of medical practice.
Practitioner-Specific Information
- Physicians
- Dentists
- Optometrists
- Podiatrists
- Acupuncturists
- Chiropractors
- Massage Therapists
- Naturopaths
- Osteopaths
- Physiotherapists
- Midwives
- Nurse Practitioners
- Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses, including those in certified practice
- Diagnostic Facilities
Claim Submission & Payment
In order to be paid for the services a practitioner has provided to MSP beneficiaries, a claim must be submitted to MSP. Learn more about how practitioners bill MSP, what happens if their claim is refused and what is being done to prevent unethical billing.
Assignment of New Teleplan Data Centre Numbers
Data Centre numbers for practitioner claims are currently defines throughout the MSP Claims system as an alphanumeric character field of five in length, beginning with T, M or V. No later than July 31, 2022, the format of Data Centre numbers will be expanded to include alphanumeric strings starting with other letters.
Learn more about the update here.
MSP Service Location Codes
| Location Code | Location | Location Description |
|---|---|---|
| B | Community Health Centre | Service is provided in an inter-professional primary care centre that integrates primary care, health promotion and community well-being services as well as a broader range of social supports. |
| C | Residential Care/ Assisted Living Residence | Service is provided in a licensed residential care facility or registered assisted living residence (Note: Excludes small “group homes” where no professional health care support/care is available and includes extended care facility within a hospital). |
| D | Diagnostic Facility | Service is provided in a facility that primarily/exclusively provides diagnostic testing and has been granted an MSC Certificate of Approval (Note: Excludes diagnostic tests provided in practitioner’s office. Also excludes diagnostic services provided in/by hospital and/or D&T centre facilities). |
| E | Hospital Emergency Room (unscheduled patient) | Service is provided in a hospital emergency department for a patient who presents for emergent or urgent treatment (Note: Excludes hospital outpatients who receive services on a scheduled basis within an emergency department – see Hospital Outpatient) |
| F | Private Medical/ Surgical Facility | Service is provided within a private medical/surgery facility accredited by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC. |
| G | Hospital, Day Care (surgery) | Service is provided within a hospital to a patient who is a day care surgery patient (Note: Includes all patients who are in hospital on a day care basis primarily to receive a “procedure”. Excludes scheduled services – see Hospital – Out-Patient). |
| I | Hospital (inpatient) | Service is provided for a patient who is an inpatient of a hospital (note: excludes patients located within a designated “extended care unit” within a hospital – see Residential Care/ Assisted Living Residence). |
| J | First Nations Primary Health Care Clinic | Service is provided in a clinic that provides inter-professionalbased continuum of care that integrates health services, disease prevention and management, population health promotion, traditional and mental wellness, and social determinants of health, as well as embodies attributes of cultural safety and humility, trauma-informed care, and integration to First Nations communities. |
| K | Hybrid Primary Care Practice | Service is provided in a primary care practice that includes both longitudinal primary care services and walk-in/ episodic care services. |
| L | Longitudinal Primary Care Practice | Service is provided in a primary care practice (e.g., Patient Medical Home) that provides longitudinal primary care services by a family physician, group of family physicians, or group of primary care providers (FPs and NPs). Family physicians and nurse practitioners with a focused practice or providing consultative expertise (e.g., addiction medicine, sports medicine, or women’s health) are included under this code. Family physicians providing care in a shared office with non-family physicians are included under this code. |
| M | Mental Health Centre | Service is provided in a publicly administered mental health centre to an outpatient (Note: Excludes mental health facilities that are primarily residential in nature – see Residential Care/Assisted Living. Includes CRESST Facilities). |
| N | Health Care Practitioner Office (non-physician) | Service is provided in an office where non-physician health care practitioners, e.g., nurse practitioner, midwife, supplementary benefit provider, are providing care. |
| P | Hospital Outpatient | Service is provided in outpatient and/or ambulatory clinics where outpatients receive scheduled services, including emergency department, or any other hospital setting where outpatients receive services (Note: Excludes day care surgical patients). |
| Q | Specialist Physician Office | Service is provided in a physician office that provides health care services by one or more non-family physicians (e.g., Royal College or College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC specialist) |
| R | Patient's Private Home | Service is provided in a patient’s own home (note: includes services provided in “group homes” where on-site nursing or other health professional support care is not provided, but excludes assisted living residences and other residential facilities – see Residential Care/Assisted Living Residence). |
| T | Practitioner’s Office, in publicly administered facility | Service is provided in a practitioner’s publicly administered office located within a publicly administered health care facility (e.g., Hospital, Primary Care Centre/Clinic, D&T Centre, etc.). |
| U | Urgent and Primary Care Centre (Ministry-designated) | Service is provided in a centre that provides longitudinal full-service primary care and attachment in addition to meeting the episodic urgent primary care needs for both attached and unattached patients. |
| V | Virtual Care | Service is provided within a practice that provides exclusively virtual care as a method of delivering health care diagnosis and treatment services. Does not include other clinics or centers where virtual care is provided in addition to in-person care (e.g., a Longitudinal Primary Care Practice or Walk-In/Episodic Care Clinic offering virtual care services and in-person services would not use V). |
| W | Walk-In/Episodic Care Clinic | Service is provided in a practice that provides exclusively episodic primary care services. |
| Z | Other, e.g., accident site or in an ambulance | Service is provided in any other location, such as a temporary community or school clinic, ambulance, accident site, etc. |
Change to newly issued practitioner and payee numbers value, and specialty codes value: Effective June 1, 2022
Effective June 1, 2022, newly issued practitioner and payee numbers and specialty codes will be issued as alphanumeric values. Existing specialty codes and practitioner and payee numbers issued before June 1, 2022 will remain valid.
Learn more about the change.
Billing Integrity Program
The Billing Integrity Program provides audit services to the Medical Services Plan (MSP) and the Medical Services Commission (the Commission).
Opting Out of MSP
Physicians and supplementary benefits practitioners are not required to enroll with MSP. If a practitioner chooses to not enroll, they are allowed to charge patients more for a service than is set out in the applicable Payment Schedule. Learn more about the different choices for opting out.
Referrals for Services Outside of Canada
Sometimes it is in a patient’s best interest to receive medical services outside of Canada. If a B.C. specialist physician recommends medical treatment in another country, the specialist must request provincial coverage. Learn more about this process, including what types of medical services are permitted and how to request coverage.
Contact Us
If you have questions about MSP, contact us.