3.13 Correct Quantities

General Policy Description

Reliable quantity reporting is critical to efficient and accurate adjudication of claims.

Policy Details

Refer to Section 5.5–Correct Quantities Policy.

Safety Note

Health Canada assigns one drug identification number (DIN) per drug entity. This may affect drugs marketed in unit dose syringes, vials or packs of the same concentration but of varying volumes.

  • For instance, because Botox vials (available in 200 units per vial, 100 units per vial and 50 units per vial sizes) contain the same concentration of active ingredient, all three sizes are identified with the same DIN (1981501). This DIN appears in PharmaNet by default as 100 units per vial. This could lead to dosing errors. Other practitioners, especially emergency department physicians and hospital pharmacists, rely on the information in the PharmaNet profile when determining what doses the patient has already had and what doses to re-prescribe.

Pharmacists’ best practice in such situations includes

  • Documenting the exact dose that was dispensed in the SIG field

  • Ensuring doses are confirmed by a third party (e.g., patient, prescriber, hospital or clinic) before new orders are written and filled

Procedures

  1. Access the list of the correct units to enter for various medications and medication categories.

  2. The BC PharmaCare Formulary Search may also be helpful in determining the unit of measure used for a particular product.

    Pharmacies may also contact the PharmaNet Help Desk for assistance with determining correct quantities for claims.

  3. If you are still unsure which unit of measure to submit or are having trouble entering a decimal, contact the PharmaNet Help Desk.