PRIME

Last updated on March 13, 2024

Naturopathic physicians: Check your site registration or user enrolment status in PRIME. If your status is “under review”, we will either contact you with questions or you will be notified when your registration or enrolment is processed. For questions about CNPBC's deadline, please contact the College directly.

Site registration in PRIME

Pharmacies, community health practices, and device providers must register every PharmaNet access site in PRIME before any health professional accesses PharmaNet at the site. 

Review details and guides to registering your sites:

Registration in PRIME is a request for Ministry of Health approval for PharmaNet access.

Individual enrolment in PRIME

Health care professionals working in health authority facilities, private community health practices, pharmacies, and device providers located in B.C. who need PharmaNet access to deliver patient care must enrol in PRIME. This includes those who access PharmaNet on behalf of someone else, e.g., medical office assistants.

Visit individual enrolment in PRIME for information about enrolling.

Enrolment in PRIME is a request for Ministry of Health approval to access PharmaNet. Once enrolled in PRIME, a unique global PharmaNet ID (GPID) number is assigned to the user and attached to every action they take in PharmaNet. Unusual activity is investigated. 

A 3-minute video introducing PRIME
PRIME 101 - What is PRIME?

 

To enrol in or register a PharmaNet access site in PRIME, you must set up the BC Services Card app on a mobile device (phone or tablet). The BC Services Card app lets you securely prove your identity online. PRIME only collects your name, birthdate and address from the app, to identify you. This use is completely separate from your PHN and healthcare information.

If you are unable to set up the app, you may be able to use the BC Token. Visit how to get the BC Token for details.

Not sure if you're accessing PharmaNet? You may know PharmaNet by the name of the software your workplace uses. If you are pulling patient records from PharmaNet to deliver care, even if you're not viewing them, you must enrol in PRIME. If you aren't sure if you need PharmaNet, ask your supervisor. It is up to the workplace to determine who requires access for their job.

 

Why the Ministry of Health developed PRIME

PRIME protects patient and practitioner information. Only users authorized by the Ministry of Health can use PharmaNet to deliver care.

PRIME protects you as a PharmaNet user. PRIME assigns you a unique global PharmaNet ID code (GPID). The GPID is linked to every transaction you make in PharmaNet. No one else can enter transactions under your GPID.

Access to PharmaNet is for professionals who care for patients as a key job duty. Your employer decides whether you need direct access to PharmaNet (they may instead prefer you consult medication records added to a patient’s chart). Access to PharmaNet is granted through PRIME according to legislation and Ministry of Health policy.

Before PRIME, there were several ways to access PharmaNet across the health sector. To align with regulatory requirements and to better protect PharmaNet and the information in it, the Province implemented PRIME as a single-user enrolment system for all PharmaNet users across the health sector.

PRIME:

  • Keeps PharmaNet patient and practitioner information secure
  • Improves how PharmaNet access is monitored, audited, and tracked in case of a breach or misuse of PharmaNet information
  • Ensures that every PharmaNet user has been approved by the Ministry of Health, the owner of PharmaNet
  • Eliminates administrative paperwork and recordkeeping associated with PharmaNet access, which has traditionally fallen to healthcare settings
  • Is required by law, enshrined in B.C.’s Information Management Regulation

History

In 2015, Information Management Regulation under the Pharmaceutical Services Act was brought into effect, and changed in 2021. The IMR is intended to improve user management for PharmaNet and address security and privacy concerns arising from security breaches and audit reports on PharmaNet. The Regulation requires that the Ministry of Health be solely responsible for granting access and determining privileges for PharmaNet, on an individual basis.

PRIME meets the requirements of the IMR, but it has also been designed to provide a quick, streamlined, uniform way for all PharmaNet users to request Ministry approval for PharmaNet access. Hundreds of healthcare professionals, from pharmacists, to practicing physicians and nurse providers, to medical office assistants, to system administrators, have participated in the development of PRIME, allowing for continuous, responsive improvements.

PRIME contributes to the ongoing evolution of the Ministry of Health's Digital Health Initiative to make more and better healthcare information available online. PRIME's secure online identity authentication for registration is in line with the Ministry's overall strategy for access to online health services and information.

PRIME provides better security for patient and providers data within PharmaNet.

"PRIME" was originally an acronym for the PharmaNet Revisions for the Information Management Enhancement project, but now refers to the system.

The terms of access accepted in PRIME supersede previous paper PharmaNet access agreements (ComPAP, MPAP) and confidentiality undertakings (HAP, EDAP).

Individual enrolment

Site registration

PRIME user guides

Contact

Resources

Demos for physicians

Demos for site registration 

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