COVID-19 information for health professionals
A non-profit research study on COVID-19 treatments is seeking participants in B.C. The study is open to certain populations, including those who may not qualify for publicly funded Paxlovid. For more information, visit https://cantreatcovid.org/
Last updated: October 6, 2023
On this page:
View Paxlovid: A guide for B.C. pharmacists for information about dispensing, PharmaCare's assessment fee, and more.
COVID-19 vaccines
PharmaCare pays pharmacies a fee of $18.00 for administering each publicly funded COVID-19 vaccine. Visit PharmaCare drug administration for details.
Rapid antigen test (RAT) kits
Community pharmacies can claim $75.00 per case of publicly funded COVID-19 RAT kits they distribute.
Clients can pick up a kit containing 5 tests from participating pharmacies at no cost. They should pick up a test kit when they are asymptomatic to use at a future time when they have symptoms.
PharmaNet instructions:
- Enter PIN for RAT case: 66128325 for BNTX case or 66128338 for Artron case
- Enter pharmacy’s O-Med PHN.
- Enter the number of cases in Quantity.
- The claim will adjudicate as a non-benefit and will be paid monthly.
Patient instruction sheets:
- Patient instruction sheet for BTNX test (PDF) – English
- ASL | Arabic | Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese | Farsi | French | Korean | Punjabi | Spanish | Vietnamese | Tigrinya | Russian | Ukrainian
- Patient instruction sheet for Artron test (PDF) – English
- ASL | Arabic | Simplified Chinese | Traditional Chinese | Farsi | French | Korean | Punjabi | Spanish | Vietnamese | Tigrinya | Russian | Ukrainian
Health Canada periodically extends RAT kit expiry dates. Visit Health Canada’s web page, Authorized medical devices for uses related to COVID-19 and the BC Centre for Disease Control COVID-19 website for current information.
Coverage for First Nations Health Authority clients
The Transitional Coverage Request (PDF, 651KB) (TCR) is a manual claim process for a one-time fill used in cases where Plan W coverage is not yet in place. The form has a checkbox to indicate whether the request is related to COVID-19 or a biosimilar transition.
First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) aims to support continuity of treatment and immediate coverage for eligible benefit items. If the request is approved, FNHA will reimburse pharmacists a $10 service fee in addition to the drug cost and dispensing fee (up to the PharmaCare maximum). The form can also be used to request transitional coverage for medical supplies and equipment that are urgent and eligible for coverage. The following PIN will show on the pharmacy payment statement from Pacific Blue Cross: 3642005 – TCR payment.
If an FNHA client does not have Plan W as their primary drug plan, the pharmacist can submit a TCR with the client’s PHN, status number, date of birth and address, indicating that the client requires Plan W enrolment. In this scenario, FNHA will reimburse pharmacists a $10 service fee. The following PIN will show on the pharmacy payment statement from Pacific Blue Cross: 3642006 – MSP enrolment payment.
For any questions about Transitional Coverage Requests, contact FNHA at 1-855-550-5454.
Resources
- BC Centre for Disease Control:
- CanTreatCOVID study: B.C. patients who do not qualify for Paxlovid treatment may be eligible to participate
- COVID-19 Immunization Guide for B.C. Community Pharmacies
- Crohn's and Colitis Canada: COVID-19 and IBS
- Paxlovid: A guide for B.C. pharmacists - information about dispensing, PharmaCare's assessment fee, and more.
