In this section, you’ll find answers to many questions our pharmacists have received.

What is Pharmacare?
Pharmacare is a provincial insurance program that assists British Columbians in paying for eligible prescription drugs and certain medical supplies. For information contact:

Mailing Address
Pharmacare
PO Box 9655 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, B.C., Canada
V8W 9P2

Telephone Numbers
If calling from Victoria:
(250) 952-2866
If calling from the lower mainland:
(604) 682-6849
Toll Free from elsewhere in B.C.:
1-800-554-0250

Who qualifies for Pharmacare?
In British Columbia, residents automatically qualify for Pharmacare coverage by registering with the Medical Services Plan of British Columbia (MSP).
Pharmacare benefits are provided by a number of different plans.

• Seniors (Plan A).
• Residents of designated long term care facilities (Plan B).
• Persons covered by the Ministry of Human Resources (Plan C).
• Cystic fibrosis patients receiving digestive enzymes (Plan D).
• All other residents of the province under the age of 65 registered under the Medical Services Plan of BC (Plan E).
• Medically dependent children through the At Home Program (Plan F).
• Clients eligible for benefits through Mental Health Centres (Plan G).
• In-home patients requiring oxygen (Home Oxygen Program).
  

What does Pharmacare cover?
Products covered by Pharmacare include:

• Eligible drugs prescribed by a physician, surgeon, dentist, midwife, or podiatrist.
• Insulin, needles, and syringes for diabetics.
• Blood glucose monitoring strips for diabetics where blood glucose testing is deemed necessary, and who have a valid Certificate of Training from an approved Diabetic Teaching Centre.
• Certain ostomy supplies.
• Designated permanent prosthetic appliances and children's orthotic devices (braces).

What products does Pharmacare not cover?

• Eyeglasses.
• Hearing aids or hearing aid batteries.
• Bandages.
• Artificial sweeteners.
• Antacids, laxatives, and other over-the-counter drugs.
• Wheelchairs, walkers, and other medical devices.
• Drug costs which have been fully reimbursed by another plan.
• Drugs or supplies obtained while outside of British Columbia.
• Mail-order prescriptions requested from companies located outside the province.

What is Pharmacare's 30-Day Supply Coverage policy?
For short-term drug prescriptions and first-time prescriptions for maintenance drugs, Pharmacare coverage is limited to a maximum 30 days' supply.
Short-term drugs include antibiotics, sedatives, sleeping pills and barbiturates.

What maintenance drugs are covered by Pharmacare?
Maintenance drugs are medications used for long-term conditions, such as diabetes. The first prescription for a maintenance drug is limited to 30 days to prevent wastage by ensuring that the drug will be effective in treating the condition. Repeat prescriptions of maintenance drugs are covered for a maximum of 100 days' supply. Exemptions are available for residents of rural or remote areas without a pharmacy nearby.

What makes up the cost of a prescription?
The drug ingredient cost and the professional dispensing fee make up the total cost of the prescription.

What is PharmaNet?
PharmaNet is a BC wide network linking all pharmacies into a central set of data systems. These systems provide significantly improved data and services to support medication dispensing, medication monitoring and claims processing.

Why have a BC pharmacy network (PharmaNet)?

• Prevent over consumption of prescription drugs by unintended duplication or fraud.
• Prevent inappropriate therapies by drug interaction checking and dosage range checking.
• Promote cost effective usage of medications and other therapeutic alternatives.
• Improve standards of practice by offering comprehensive medication information and complete patient information.
• Streamline claims payments by offering immediate adjudication for pharmacies and the public.

What are "low cost alternative drugs"?
Many drugs have alternative brands available, which are less expensive yet contain the same active ingredients. A list of these low cost alternative drugs is provided to your pharmacist.

What is the advantage of low cost alternative drugs?
Low cost alternative drugs are often much less expensive than many other brands on the market. This means direct and significant savings to individual consumers, to Pharmacare and to the government.

Are the less expensive products any less safe or less effective than the more expensive one?
Health Canada ensures that low cost alternative drugs are as safe and as effective as the more expensive ones.

How will the pharmacist know what products Pharmacare will fully reimburse?
All pharmacies in the province are supplied with a list of low cost alternative drugs. If you have any questions on whether a product is fully covered or not, simply ask your pharmacist.

What is Pharmacare's Reference Drug program?
The Reference Drug program enables Pharmacare to provide the best medically effective drug for the most cost-effective price. When scientific evidence shows that several drugs work equally well for a certain condition, Pharmacare pays for the lowest cost drug, the reference drug.

How does the Reference Drug program work?
A wide variety of medications exist to treat common medical conditions. While these drugs often vary greatly in price, they often provide the same treatment. The cost of the preferred drug will then be the price of the "reference drug" for the level of coverage that Pharmacare will establish for any medication in that class used to treat that condition.
Patients eligible for Pharmacare benefits will receive full coverage for the preferred "reference" prescription medication. Patients have the option of choosing a more expensive medication and paying the difference in price. If a patient needs a more expensive drug for medical reasons, their doctor may obtain special authorization from Pharmacare for full coverage of that drug.

What is the difference between a brand name and a generic drug?
Price, with generic drugs costing 40-50% less on average. There are no differences as far as quality, purity, effectiveness and safety between generic medications and higher-priced brand name drugs.

Is there a difference in the ingredients found in a brand name versus a generic drug or house brand?
The active ingredient in a generic drug and brand name drug meet the same scientific norms and standards set by the Health Protection Branch. Some drugs may vary in other ingredients though.

Who do I ask about getting low cost generic medications?
Your physician or pharmacist.

Why should I care how much medications cost?
In Canada, health care costs are shared by everybody. The cost of prescriptions may be covered through your taxes or byemployer health benefits premiums at work, but everyone pays for high-priced medications either through cuts to our health care system, higher taxes or increased premiums. Generic drugs help to reduce the costs for taxpayers and employers alike.

What is BC's Trial Prescription Program?
The Trial Prescription program encourages the dispensing of a small quantity (10-14 days supply) of expensive medications with known high incidence of side effects to discourage waste when the medication is not well tolerated. For more details or a list of these medications contact your family physician or pharmacist.

For any nutrition questions, Ask our Nutritionists