Online Prescription Refills in Vancouver, British Columbia

No. TelePlus Care virtual refill visits are a private, paid service and are not billed to the Medical Services Plan (MSP). You pay a set fee, confirmed at booking, for the doctor's medication review. Your prescription itself is separate — once it reaches your pharmacy, PharmaCare and any private drug plan apply to the medication's cost exactly as they normally would.

Often, yes — and it may be faster. Pharmacists in British Columbia can renew many ongoing prescriptions, prescribe contraception, and assess a set list of minor ailments right at the counter, seven days a week (HealthLink BC). Ask your pharmacy first. When they can't extend it — the refills have lapsed, the dose changed, or you have new symptoms they can't assess — a B.C.-licensed doctor can review it online.

Controlled substances are never prescribed or refilled through TelePlus Care's online visits — that includes opioids, benzodiazepines, and ADHD stimulants. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. expects an established treating relationship or an in-person exam before prescribing such drugs. The doctor may also decline medications that need urgent bloodwork, close monitoring, a physical exam, or specialist oversight, recommending in-person care instead when that's safer.

Yes. You don't need a family doctor to book a focused refill review, which can help while you're on the Health Connect Registry or between providers. That said, a virtual visit isn't a substitute for ongoing care: chronic conditions, dose changes, and new problems are best managed by a regular prescriber who knows your full history. We'll still encourage you to pursue longitudinal primary care.

Any licensed pharmacy you choose — a chain on Broadway or Robson, an independent on Commercial Drive, a grocery-store counter in Kerrisdale, a campus pharmacy near UBC, or a delivery service if leaving home is hard. The e-prescription is sent electronically once the doctor approves it. Bring your BC Services Card so PharmaCare coverage is applied wherever the medication is eligible.

Likely, yes. Because TelePlus Care is a private paid visit rather than an MSP-billed one, you don't need active provincial coverage to book. New arrivals often face a wait before MSP begins, so students at UBC, SFU, or Langara sometimes use a virtual visit to keep a stable medication going in the meantime. International students should also check whether their student health plan reimburses the fee.

They'll explain why and point you to the safest next step — a lab requisition, a follow-up plan, an in-person assessment, or a return to your regular prescriber. Nothing is renewed automatically. If a refill can't be provided safely online or the visit can't proceed, TelePlus Care will review the appointment for an eligible refund, usually initiated within one business day; an administrative processing charge may apply.

Right away, for anything serious. Call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department — such as Vancouver General or St. Paul's — for chest pain, stroke signs like sudden weakness or slurred speech, severe breathing trouble, a serious allergic reaction, fainting, or thoughts of self-harm. For urgent but non-emergency concerns, a UPCC or walk-in clinic can see you, and HealthLink BC's free 8-1-1 nurse line can help you decide, any hour.

TelePlus Care is a private virtual clinic, so visits are not billed to Medical Services Plan (MSP) — you pay a flat visit fee and there is no wait-list or referral needed. Our doctors are licensed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) to care for patients in British Columbia. For publicly insured, non-urgent advice you can also call HealthLink BC (811).

Choose from the current TelePlus Care appointment times shown in the booking form — no roster, referral, or wait-list is required. Same-day options may be available, but availability changes with clinician capacity and demand; the earliest selectable time is at least two hours after booking. You connect with a Canadian licensed doctor by phone or secure video from home, and when appropriate a prescription is sent to your preferred Vancouver pharmacy.

In British Columbia, pharmacists can renew or adapt an existing non-controlled prescription for continuity of care using their professional judgment, for whatever duration they consider appropriate, as long as it does not exceed the prescription's expiry (prescriptions are generally valid for up to two years from the date written, unless the prescriber added a "do not renew/adapt" notation). When a renewal is not appropriate — for example, the prescription is expired or the pharmacist lacks enough information — the pharmacist may instead provide a short-term emergency supply for continuity of care in exceptional circumstances. (Source: College of Pharmacists of British Columbia (PPP-58 & PPP-31).)

Because care is virtual, TelePlus Care serves patients across British Columbia, including Vancouver, Vernon, Victoria, West Vancouver, and White Rock, and other communities — anywhere in the province with a phone or internet connection.

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