Opioid use disorder

Last updated on December 2, 2025

Related: Prescribed alternatives | Alcohol use disorder (AUD) | Nicotine/tobacco use disorder (NUD)

This web page provides links to essential resources for pharmacists and other clinicians providing care to B.C. residents with opioid use disorder.

On this page: Training | Prescriptions | Coverage | Fees | Nurse prescriptions | Pharmacy recordkeeping | DUE | Prescribed alternatives | Resources

Training and education

Physicians and nurse practitioners should visit the BCCSU website for OAT training:

Nurses can get certified in opioid use disorder (CP-OUD) through their college, in order to prescribe:

Pharmacy providers can only enrol in the PharmaCare OAT provider sub-class if every pharmacist who provides OAT services there has completed the required training:

The College of Pharmacists of B.C. requires all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians providing OAT to complete the OAT-CAMPP training as required by Professional Practice Policy 66.

  • Pharmacists must complete the online modules and in-person workshop
  • Pharmacy technicians are only required to complete the online modules

Pharmacists are also encouraged to review these British Columbia Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) resources:

For Sublocade® injections, pharmacists are encouraged to take the free, accredited (0.75 CEUs) course: 

Before ordering, dispensing or administering Sublocade, pharmacists are also encouraged by BCCSU to take:

Adapting, renewing, transferring OAT prescriptions

Pharmacists may transfer prescriptions for controlled substances, including OAT, if permitted by:

Pharmacists may offer an emergency supply to clients for continuity of care as per:

PharmaCare coverage

PharmaCare covers the full cost of regular benefit opioid agonist treatment (OAT) for B.C. residents enrolled in the Medical Services Plan. Coverage is under Plan G, Plan C, Plan B and Plan Z. If a client is new to the province and not fully enrolled in MSP, they may be eligible for exceptional coverage.

OAT PINs and DINs

Use OAT PINs for OAT claims. Use DINs for pain prescriptions. 

Special Authority

Special Authority requests may be submitted for partial benefits and, in rare circumstances, non-benefits, under plans G, C, B, Z. as well as Plan W.

If clients have not benefited from regular benefit OAT, prescribers can request Special Authority coverage for: 

  • 12 and/or 16 mg buprenorphine/naloxone tablets 
  • Compounded methadone 
  • Full coverage of a brand name version of a covered generic drug, e.g., in case of intolerance to all generic versions 

Pharmacists may draft a SA request for a prescriber to review, sign and submit.

Exceptional coverage for clients without MSP

Pharmacists and other prescribers may apply for 6 months of exceptional coverage of OAT under Plan Z for people not fully enrolled in MSP or in the coverage wait period. 

Prescribers may apply for 6 months of exceptional coverage of OAT under Plan G for people not fully enrolled in MSP or in the coverage wait period, as long as they meet Plan G's clinical and financial criteria.

PharmaCare fees for pharmacists

Methadone interaction fee 

PharmaCare pays an interaction fee for witnessed ingestion of methadone. The fee can be claimed by pharmacies that are: 

  • Enrolled in the OAT provider sub-class, and
  • Dispensing methadone with direct interaction  

Learn more about the Methadone Maintenance Payment Program. 

Drug administration fee

Pharmacists can claim the drug administration fee (PIN 66128366) when administering Sublocade.

Prescribed alternative witness fees

The Ministry is working on a new payment system to pay pharmacies a fee for witnessing doses of PAs. Pharmacies can expect to receive payments in spring 2026, once the new payment system is ready to be implemented. Pharmacies will receive retroactive payments for witnessed doses of PA recorded in PharmaNet from June 18, 2025, onwards.

Pharmacies will be paid a fee for each eligible dose of witnessed PA medications up to a daily maximum. Fee amounts are based on the type of medication. 

For full details on which doses of prescribed alternatives are eligible for a witness fee, refer to Prescribed alternatives.

Dispensing nurse prescriptions

Registered nurses (RNs) and registered psychiatric nurses (RPNs) certified in opioid use disorder (CP-OUD) through BC College of Nurses and Midwives can prescribe and administer: 

  • ER injectable buprenorphine (Sublocade®) 
  • Buprenorphine/naloxone 
  • Methadone
  • Slow-release oral morphine (Kadian®) 
  • Select Schedule I or II drugs 

To dispense nurse prescriptions, pharmacists must verify their prescriber ID reference code in PharmaNet. Search by prescriber name or licence number and practitioner reference ID. If several ID reference codes show for one nurse, select the most current record. For support determining a nurse's prescribing authority, call the PharmaCare Help Desk.

  Prescriber ID reference code Non-prescriber ID reference code
RN R9 RX
RPN Y9 YX

Nurses may witness ingestion and provide take-home doses of pharmacy-prepared medication as prescribed. PharmaCare does not pay the interaction fee for nurses witnessing methadone ingestion. Community pharmacies may release patient-specific OAT and clinic (ward) stock drugs to a community health facility for nurse administration, under CPBC’s Professional Practice Policy 66 – Opioid Agonist Treatment.

Nurses should document changes to pharmacy-prepared, patient-specific medication, such as increased, decreased, or missed doses in PharmaNet using the TMU transaction. TMU entry is not a pharmacy responsibility, but pharmacists should be familiar with the TMUs and related pharmacy-specific actions. Learn more about IIMOAT TMU entries. 

Pharmacy recordkeeping

Pharmacists must keep a paper record of: 

PharmaCare's electronic recordkeeping policy does not apply to controlled prescription program prescriptions and part-fill accountability logs associated with OAT.  

Records for patient-specific, pharmacy-prepared doses, including doses that will be witnessed or provided at a community health facility, must comply with the PharmaNet patient record entry requirements, as per section 11(2) of the Community Pharmacy Standards of Practice (PDF, 202 KB).   

Drug use evaluations (DUE) 

Pharmacists dispensing OAT prescriptions should be aware of potential drug interactions and be prepared to recommend appropriate monitoring and management strategies to prescribers and clients. 

OAT medications dispensed under PINs are not included in DUE checks.

OAT medications dispensed under DINs, such as buprenorphine/naloxone, are included in DUE checks. 

Prescribed alternatives

B.C.’s prescribed alternatives (PA) program oversees prescribing and provision of regulated, pharmaceutical-grade medications of known concentration to people at high risk of harm from the unregulated drug supply. Visit Prescribed alternatives for information about prescribing and recording PAs.

Support for practitioners, including pharmacists: 24/7 Addiction Medicine Clinician Support Line – BCCSU (1-778-945-7619) 

Practitioner Resources 

PharmaCare and PharmaNet

BCCSU

CPBC resources

Other education and training 

Support for clients