How to Obtain HIV Treatment Medication

In British Columbia, antiretroviral medications and other drugs for management of HIV are provided at no cost to medically eligible persons through the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) Drug Treatment Program. A list of HIV Treatment and other select medications available through the BC-CfE is available here
Please use the following links to learn about eligibility, enrolment and how to obtain medications for the treatment of HIV infection.

Eligibility

Persons meeting the following criteria are eligible to access medications for treatment of HIV infection through enrolment into the BC-CfE HIV Drug Treatment Program:

 

  • Documented HIV infection and clinically meets the current criteria for treatment with antiretroviral medication (as specified in the BC-CfE Therapeutic Guidelines)

AND

 

  • BC resident with Medical Services Plan (MSP) coverage (active BC Personal Health Number) or Interim Federal Health coverage (e.g. refugee status) or active medical plan coverage from another Canadian Province, for temporary coverage pending active MSP coverage.

For further information about eligibility and obtaining HIV medications, contact the BC-CfE Outreach Pharmacy Coordinator at 604-806-9096

Initial Enrolment

Patients are enrolled in the HIV Drug Treatment Program at the time of the first request for medication. Initial enrolment requires submission of two forms, completed by the patient’s physician. Forms may be downloaded in PDF format from this website or paper copies may be requested from the BC-CfE HIV Drug Treatment Program office.
  1. HIV Drug Treatment Program Enrolment form (PDF). The enrolment form is submitted only ONCE for each patient at the time of initial enrolment.
  2. HIV Drug Treatment Program Prescription Request form (PDF). The prescription form is required at the time of initial enrolment, re-enrolment or if a change of medication regimen is requested. Information about how to complete the prescription form is in the following section.

Re-Enrolment

If the patient is off medication for more than six months or moves out of BC, re-enrolment is required at the time of medication re-start or return to BC by submission of a completed HIV Drug Treatment Program Prescription Request form (PDF). It is NOT necessary to complete the Enrolment form if the patient has previously received medications through the BC-CfE HIV Drug Treatment Program.

Complete and Submit the Prescription Request form

The patient’s physician must complete and submit an HIV medication Prescription Request form in the following circumstances:

  • New patient, not previously treated in BC (also submit a completed Drug Treatment Program Enrolment form with the first prescription request).
  • Previously treated patients who have been off therapy for more than 6 months or who are returning to BC after living outside the province.
  • Change in HIV drug regimen, including: Addition of new drug(s), discontinuation of previous drug(s), dosage changes which affect drug indication (e.g. the dose for treatment naïve is different than for experienced patients).

For prescribing assistance, physician consultation (1-800-665-7677, REACH line) is available 7 days a week. Pharmacist consultation (1-888-511-6222, St Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy) is available Monday- Fri day 8 am-5 pm. After hours, a pharmacist is on call for emergency situations.

Complete the prescription request:

Any physician licensed to practice in BC may prescribe HIV medication; however, new medication regimens must first be approved by a BC-CfE affiliated physician. Complete the HIV Drug Treatment Program Prescription Request form (PDF):

  • Provide complete patient identifier and medication information as required for a legal prescription. Please use the patient’s legal name as written on the BC Care Card and/or other government-issued identification.
  • Include the most recent HIV plasma viral load and CD4 count and document medication allergies, medical conditions and concurrent medications which could influence the selection or dosage of antiretroviral medication.
  • Identify the follow-up prescriber: The Physician or Nurse Practitioner who will provide ongoing care and monitoring and authorize prescription refills. If no follow-up prescriber is specified, the HIV Drug Treatment Program will send prescription refill forms and other documents to the prescribing physician.
  • Specify the authorized pharmacy where the patient will pick up the medication (see HIV Medication Dispensing). It is advisable to discuss the proposed pick-up location with the patient prior to submitting the request. If the patient is unable to pick up medication from an authorized pharmacy, contact the St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy Outreach Pharmacist (604)-806-8456 to arrange for delivery to an alternate site.

Submit the prescription request:

Fax or mail the prescription form and enrolment form, if required to the BC-CfE HIV Drug Treatment Program office.

Fax (preferred):604-806-9044
Mail:BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Room 608, 1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
Telephone inquiries:604-806-8515

Review and Approval of HIV Prescription Requests

Once the prescription for HIV medication has been received at the Drug Treatment Program office, a BC-CfE- affiliated physician will review the medication regimen to ensure the request is consistent with current Treatment Guidelines. The prescribing physician will be contacted if clarification is required or if the prescription is not approved. This review usually takes one or two business days.

 

When a prescription is approved, an approval notification consisting of a copy of the approved prescription and a covering letter will be sent to both the physician who submitted the request and the designated follow-up prescriber.

 

After receiving the approval notification, it is the responsibility of the prescriber to inform the patient or the patient’s care-giver where to pick up the medication.

HIV Medication Dispensing

Dispensing Locations

Note: Most BC pharmacies DO NOT stock HIV medications. HIV medications provided through the BC-Drug Treatment Program are dispensed at the authorized pharmacies listed below. If it is not possible for the patient to pick up medications directly from one of these sites, HIV medications dispensed at St Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy may be delivered to a designated community pharmacy, a physician’s office or other health care facility. Delivery plans must be arranged in advance by contacting the St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy Outreach Pharmacist (604)-806-8456 (please leave a message, a pharmacist will return your call). HIV medications will NOT be delivered to a patient’s home or non-healthcare setting.

It is the responsibility of the prescriber to ensure the patient knows where to go to pick up the medication. Hours of operation and pick-up procedures vary between sites; some locations require an appointment for medication pick-up so that medication support and education can be provided. Contact the site for details, see below.

Vancouver
St Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy
Address: 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver V6Z 1Y6
1-800-547-3622
Fax: 604-806-8675
After hours emergency telephone line (pharmacist on call):
1-888-511-6222
Booking pharmacy appointments: 604-806-8060
Hours:
Mon, Thu, Fri 7 am- 4:30 pm
Tue, Wed 7 am – 7:30 pm
Closed weekends and stat holidays
Downtown Clinic Pharmacy (at Downtown Community Health Clinic)
Address: 569 Powell Street, Vancouver V6A 1G8
Telephone: 604-216-4257
Hours:
7 days per week (9:00am – 6:00 pm)
BC Children’s Hospital Ambulatory Care Pharmacy
Address: 4500 Oak Street, Vancouver V6H 3N1
Telephone: 604-875-2205
Hours:
Mon-Fri 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Closed weekends and stat holidays
Victoria
Royal Jubilee Prescriptions
Address: DT-1200 1952 Bay Street, Victoria V8R 1J8
Telephone: 250-370-8153
Hours:
Mon-Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Closed weekends and stat holidays
Nanaimo
Rexall Drugs #7181
Address: 1750 Dufferin Crescent Nanaimo, BC V9S 0A4
Telephone: 250-753-6655
Fax: 250-753-8945
Hours:
Mon-Sun 9:00 am – 9:00 pm
(Closed December 25, Christmas Day)
Kelowna
Lakeside Medicine Centre
Address: #112A – 2365 Gordon Drive, Kelowna V1W 3C2
Telephone: 250-860-3100
Hours:
Mon-Fri 8:30 am- 6 pm
Sat 10 am- 5 pm
Closed Sundays and stat holidays
Other sites
HIV medications dispensed at St Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy may be delivered to a designated community pharmacy, a physician’s office or other health care facility. Delivery plans must be arranged in advance by contacting the St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy Outreach Pharmacist (604)-806-8456 (please leave a message, a pharmacist will return your call).

Dispensed Quantity of HIV Medications

For patients who are newly enrolled in the HIV Drug Treatment Program, or who are re-starting or changing medications, the initial fill quantity is usually a one month supply. Prescription refills for stable patients are usually a two or three month supply.

Refills of Ongoing HIV Medication Regimens

A new, signed prescription is required each time HIV medications are dispensed. In order to support continuity of care, the HIV Drug Treatment Program will mail pre-printed antiretroviral prescription refill forms to the follow-up physician or Nurse Practitioner (NP) specified on the original prescription request. These prescription refill forms are provided for prescriber convenience; any legal prescription format may be used to order refills of antiretroviral medications. Prescribers who do not wish to receive pre-printed refills may make this request to the Drug Treatment Program office 604-806-8515.

 

Signed and dated refill prescriptions can reach the designated dispensing pharmacy in one of the following ways.

 

  1. If the medication is dispensed at the following locations, please mail or fax the prescription directly to the pharmacy:
    • Royal Jubilee Prescriptions
    • Rexall Drugs #7181
    • Lakeside Medicine Centre
    • BC Children’s Hospital – Attention: Oaktree Clinic Pharmacist
    • Downtown Clinic Pharmacy
  2. If the medication is dispensed at St Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy (including prescriptions delivered to a community pharmacy or physician’s office from St Paul’s Hospital):

    Fax or mail the signed refill prescription to the BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program office:
    Fax (preferred):604-806-9044
    Mail:BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Room 608, 1081 Burrard Street Vancouver, BC V6Z 1Y6
  3. Alternately, the signed prescription may be given directly to the patient to present to the designated pharmacy.

If the prescriber requires the patient to pick up a prescription from the prescriber’s office prior to each medication refill, please ensure the patient understands this expectation.

HIV Medication Regimen Change

Submission of a completed HIV Drug Treatment Program Prescription Request form (PDF) is required for the following changes to the HIV medication regimen:
  • Addition of any new drug(s) covered by the BC-CfE HIV Drug Treatment Program, including antiretroviral medications or medications for management of opportunistic diseases.
  • Discontinuation of antiretroviral drug(s).
  • Dosage changes which affect drug indication. Examples include:
    • The medication dose or administration frequency differs for treatment naïve versus treatment experienced patients.
    • The requested medication dose or administration frequency differs from the dose recommended in the product monograph.
A new prescription request is generally NOT required for the following adjustments to the HIV medication regimen. The prescriber may specify these changes on the refill prescription:
  • Discontinuation of medications for management of opportunistic diseases (e.g. azithromycin).
  • Dosage adjustments for changes in patient weight, renal function or other dose adjustments which do not change the drug indication (e.g. treatment naïve versus experienced).
  • Changes in dosage form, such as switching from tablets to liquid or changes in tablet strength.
  • Changes in follow-up prescriber or medication pick-up site.
  • Updates to patient identifiers (e.g. name change) or contact information.
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Canada Post has provided notification of restarting their operations on December 17, 2024. As Canada Post ramps up and stabilizes their services, the BC-CfE will continue the following measures on an interim basis to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.

  • The BC-CfE Laboratory will utilize private courier for delivery of outgoing reports and documents. (Lab Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8775; FAX 604-806-9463)
  • The BC-CfE Drug Treatment Program (DTP) will fax outgoing forms and documents to the provider’s office. (DTP Contact Information: Phone 604-806-8515; FAX 604-806-9044)
  • St. Paul’s Hospital Ambulatory Pharmacy will utilize private courier for delivery of medications. (Contact Information: Phone 1-800-547-3622; FAX 604-806-8675)

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