# Pharmacy regulation in British Columbia

The College of Pharmacists of British Columbia, BC PharmaCare, the Personal Health Number format, and what PharmFlow does and does not do in BC.

Canonical HTML version: https://pharmflow.io/provinces/bc

## Pharmacy regulator

**College of Pharmacists of British Columbia (CPBC).** CPBC publishes its licensed community and hospital pharmacy directories as public web pages. PharmFlow's pharmacy reference data is built from them.

## Public drug plan

**BC PharmaCare.** PharmFlow loads the ministry's downloadable drug data file as a formulary reference, so staff can see whether a DIN is listed under a PharmaCare plan. The file is a reference, not an eligibility answer.

## Health number

**BC Personal Health Number (PHN).** Ten digits, beginning with 9. The tenth digit is a mod-11 check digit over digits two through nine. The same rule runs at PharmFlow patient check-in and in the free validator below.

## PharmFlow tools for British Columbia

- [BC PHN Validator](https://pharmflow.io/tools/phn-validator): Runs the BC PHN check-digit rule above. In your browser, nothing uploaded.
- [Insurance ID Checker](https://pharmflow.io/tools/insurance-id-checker): Covers the BC carriers in the carrier table, including Pacific Blue Cross, FNHA, the BC Cancer Agency, and Worksafe BC.
- [SIG Code Decoder](https://pharmflow.io/tools/sig-decoder): SIG abbreviations are the same shorthand in every province.

## What PharmFlow does not do in British Columbia

- Insurance claims adjudication is not shipped. PharmFlow does not submit claims to provincial or private payers.
- The PharmaCare table is a reference, not an eligibility answer. PharmaNet stays the authority for coverage decisions.
- PharmFlow is not connected to provincial systems. PharmaNet, PCR, and PLR access requires BC CIS onboarding and signed agreements.
- The register data lists licensed pharmacies. It does not include licence numbers, which CPBC does not publish.