More topics

3.7 Medical Practitioners - Prescriber IDs and Practitioner Reference IDs

Last updated on July 18, 2025

On this page:

General policy description 

Each B.C. pharmacist, physician, surgeon, dentist, podiatrist, veterinarian, midwife, naturopath, optometrist and nurse practitioner accessing PharmaNet is assigned both a:

  • Practitioner identification reference code (Pract ID Ref) that identifies the licensing body, and
  • Practitioner identification number (also called a Practitioner ID, Pract ID, Prescriber ID or College ID), a unique number that identifies the individual practitioner, issued by the licensing body (e.g., the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, College of Pharmacists of BC)

Policy details

Use of Practitioner IDs

All prescriptions must be entered in PharmaNet with a valid Pract ID Ref and a Practitioner ID (i.e., the ID of the prescriber or, in the case of over‑the-counter medications, the pharmacist ID).

The Practitioner ID number must be used, not the MSP billing number.

Out-of-province Practitioner IDs

Practitioners from other provinces (except Alberta) are assigned generic Practitioner IDs; PharmaNet does not use the identification numbers issued by their respective colleges. Out-of-province practitioners, however, are always assigned Pract ID Ref codes to identify the relevant College.

 Alberta physicians and surgeons have individual Practitioner IDs in PharmaNet, although there may be some exceptions; Alberta dentists, podiatrists and veterinarians are assigned a generic Practitioner ID.

Individual and generic codes

For a claim to adjudicate in PharmaNet, a pharmacist must submit a valid, individual Practitioner ID number for a B.C. or Alberta practitioner, or the generic Practitioner IDs for other out‑of‑province practitioners. For specialists, pharmacists must use the generic six-character Practitioner ID 99999.

Refer to the list of Practitioner ID reference codes and Practitioner ID codes for Canadian prescribers.

Using Practitioner IDs for non-prescription items

When submitting claims for non-prescription products, pharmacists may enter their Pharmacist ID in place of the Practitioner ID. If a pharmacist elects to use the Practitioner’s ID, the pharmacist must obtain authorization from the practitioner to dispense the item.

Pharmacists may also need to use their pharmacist ID in place of a Practitioner ID under other circumstances. For instance, the pharmacist ID would be used for:

  • Claiming non-prescription items eligible for PharmaCare coverage
  • Updating a patient medication history with a non-prescription item that is not eligible for PharmaCare coverage
  • Dispensing emergency supplies of medication
  • Claiming the administration of a publicly funded vaccine
  • Claiming a clinical services fee
  • Claiming medical supplies that are eligible for PharmaCare coverage such as insulin pumps

Device providers should use their own ID only for claiming supplies when they do not have current information on any practitioner responsible for the client’s care.

Procedures for pharmacists

Finding the Practitioner ID for B.C./Alberta practitioners

  1. Search the local system for an existing practitioner entry. Once satisfied the prescriber is a legitimate practitioner, an entry for that prescriber may be created on the local system.
  2. Use the Prescriber Identification transaction (TIP) to search by surname only. If too many entries are returned, search by surname and first initial. Use the same transaction to retrieve practitioner identity and practice information, entering the Practitioner ID number and Practitioner ID Reference code.
  3. If you cannot locate the practitioner, call the PharmaCare Help Desk.

The Help Desk validates the practitioner name by repeating the name search or by contacting the appropriate college. If necessary, the practitioner can be added to PharmaNet, or the relevant college can be contacted (for B.C. physicians and surgeons only) to have the practitioner added.

Adding an Alberta practitioner to PharmaNet

To add an Alberta practitioner to PharmaNet, supply the following information to the PharmaCare Help Desk:

  • Practitioner name
  • Practitioner address
  • Practitioner gender

The Help Desk will ask you to use the generic Practitioner ID (99999) with the ID Reference code 81 in order to fill the prescription. It will contact the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons for confirmation so the physician can be added to PharmaNet