Patient care during states of emergency and evacuations

This page has information on how pharmacists can support continuity of care for patients during states of emergency and evacuation. 

On this page

• Overview
• No prescription – emergency supply
• Emergency Plan C coverage
• Early fills
• Supporting FNHA clients
• Special Authority extension
• PharmaNet restriction
• Travel supply
• LTC residents and Plan B
• OAT prescriptions
• MR-PCN notation
• Resources

Overview

By applying the relevant PharmaCare policies and claims procedures on this page, pharmacists can ensure that clients have access to needed medications during states of emergency and evacuation. 

No prescription – emergency supply

B.C. does not limit the quantity of an emergency fill. Appropriate use of the UF code along with clear documentation provides pharmacists broad latitude for clinical decisions related to emergency supplies. Provide clients with an appropriate supply of medications to ensure adequate coverage for the time under evacuation and keep in mind that even once an evacuation order is lifted they may not be able to access previously filled medications immediately.  Coverage will be under the client’s usual PharmaCare plan.

If the evacuee does not have an active prescription or it is with their regular pharmacy:

1. Follow the College of Pharmacists of BC's Schedule E.10 - Practice Standards: Miscellaneous Dispensing - Emergency supply for continuity of care (PDF, 2.8MB).

2. If dispensing medication is appropriate, submit the claim:

• PRACT ID Ref field, enter P1—College of Pharmacists of BC.
• PRACT ID field, enter your College ID
• Enter two intervention codes:
  • UF—Patient Gave Adequate Explanation & Filled as Written (this prevents a CL–Exceeds Good Faith Limit response if patient has more than a 14-day supply remaining)
  • NN—Emergency Supply of Medication

3. Document the reason for use of the UF code, for audit purposes.

Emergency Plan C coverage

Evacuees may present the Emergency BC PharmaCare Coverage for B.C. Evacuees form (HLTH 5440). This form provides 14 days of emergency Plan C coverage for evacuees who urgently need medication and are experiencing financial hardship.

• Follow the steps on the form to activate 14 days of Plan C coverage
• The form must include the ESS client and/or registration number
• Clients must obtain the form through Emergency Social Services (ESS)

For more information on ESS, visit Access Emergency Support Services.

Early fills

PharmaCare will cover early refills for evacuees and people on evacuation alert. Pharmacists may over-ride the usual 14-day supply remaining requirement.

• Enter intervention code to over-ride the limit: UF – Patient gave adequate explanation

Supporting FNHA clients

If you are supporting a First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) client with a coverage issue that cannot be resolved immediately, First Nations Health Benefits (FNHB) recommends that providers use the Transitional Payment Request (TPR) to submit a one-time manual claim at the time of dispensing. This helps ensure clients receive needed benefit items without delay. A $10 service fee is available for providers who use the TPR form. Learn more about the TPR at Plan W – Information for health professionals. For support with care for First Nations clients, call FNHA Health Benefits at 1-855-550-5454.

Special Authority extension

If a client needs a Special Authority extension, call the PharmaCare Help Desk

PharmaNet restriction

If a PharmaNet restriction (i.e., geographical) needs to be temporarily lifted, call the PharmaCare Help Desk

Travel supply

For evacuees leaving the province, pharmacists can provide a travel supply. This allows for a top-up of a prescription supply (twice a year) to the maximum days’ supply recognized by PharmaCare, for occasions when the patient has more than 14 days’ supply on hand.

• Have the patient complete and sign a Travel Declaration form
• Reverse the claim and re-submit with the intervention code MV–Vacation Supply
• Retain the signed Travel Declaration form for audit purposes

Visit PharmaCare Policy Manual, Section 5.4: Travel Supply Policy for details.

LTC residents and Plan B

If a resident of a long-term care (LTC) facility is evacuated to a different facility, the pharmacy that provides services to the receiving facility will ordinarily provide pharmacy services to the evacuee, even if the evacuee’s home facility is not registered to provide Plan B.

When requested by a health authority, the home pharmacy or a LTC facility to provide Plan B services to evacuees, the receiving pharmacy must email the following information to HIBC Information Support:

• Number of evacuees
• Name of the facility in which the evacuees are temporarily lodged
• Date the evacuees arrived
• Name of the facility the evacuees came from (if known)

The receiving pharmacy must also email HIBC Information Support when the pharmacy stops providing services, i.e., once the evacuees return to their home facility:

• Number of evacuees they provided services to
• Name of facility the evacuees were temporarily lodged in
• Name of facility the evacuees came from (if known)
• Date the evacuees arrived
• Last day of providing services to the evacuees

Additional appointed pharmacy

The receiving facility may need to arrange for a second pharmacy to provide services to evacuees. For example, the receiving facility may request that the pharmacy that ordinarily serves the evacuees at their home facility continue to provide services for the evacuees.

In this case, the receiving facility must complete an Additional Appointed Pharmacy for Long-Term Care (LTC) Evacuation form. The form is available from HIBC. It:

• Documents which pharmacy is responsible for pharmacy services for evacuees, and
• Authorizes Plan B pharmacy payments related to evacuees

The receiving facility or the additional appointed pharmacy can contact HIBC Information Support to request an Additional Appointed Pharmacy for LTC Evacuation form.