If you are not a resident of Canada, you are not covered under the Medical Services Plan in British Columbia, and you are responsible for paying your own health care fees.
- During and after your hospital stay, you may receive separate bills for various services, including charges from the hospital and from physicians who bill independently for their services.
- Important information about medical services, insurance coverage, and how billing works for out-of-province and international visitors can be found here on the Providence Health Care website.
- Read below for information about physician fees and bills you receive for payment. For questions, please contact the PHC Medical Staff Association at pass@phc.ca
- Many physicians are not employees of the hospital or Providence Health Care, but instead serve as independent contractors who are not paid by the hospital.
- As a result, some physician fees are not included in the bills the health authority provides for other hospital services.
- You may receive one or more bills/invoices from physicians for services provided during or after your stay.
- An MSA Physician Services Coordinator may visit you in person or e-mail the invoice to you for payment.
- Regardless of whether you have private insurance, you are responsible for paying the bill as issued.
- If you are insured, you may then submit your bill and receipt directly to your insurance company for reimbursement. Physicians do not communicate directly with insurance companies to obtain payment on your behalf.
- These fees are based on billing codes established by the provincial medical association (Doctors of BC), which specify fees and descriptions for the care provided during a patient encounter. The application of these codes is at the discretion of the treating physician.
Upon your admission to a PHC hospital, your contact information is shared with the health authority and physician billing clerks for the purpose of invoicing you for any hospital services provided during your stay.
Providence Health Care (PHC) is not responsible for physician billing or collection activities and does not have custody or control of related billing records. Any personal information exchanged in relation to physician billing is handled under the authority of the physician and/or the Medical Staff Association (MSA).
The MSA systems used for physician billing employ secure, encrypted protocols to protect the confidentiality of your data. Only the minimum information necessary to process and fulfill your billing obligation is used. Your medical status is not shared for this purpose.
Your contact information will not be disclosed, sold, or shared for any other purpose. It is held in a secure system on a temporary basis and used exclusively to fulfill your billing obligations for physician hospital fees associated with your care.
Invoices are maintained by the MSA as tax and financial records for a period of seven (7) years, in accordance with applicable federal record-keeping requirements, after which they are securely destroyed.