Submitting and Updating Panel Lists

All family physicians providing longitudinal care are asked to submit lists of empanelled patients to MSP/Teleplan. The lists will appear on the Panel Registry (part of the Provincial Attachment System) a few days after submission.

Before submitting lists of empanelled patients, it is important to clean up your lists.

To support you in preparing an accurate and up-to-date panel list through your EMRs, self-serve guides and resources can be found on EMR Resources for Panel Clean Up/Submission.

Important: Please ensure that you have an MSP Facility Number, as it is needed to submit your panel. The Facility Number is used to associate the panel with the physician’s location of practice. If you do not have a Facility Number, you can request one. If you practice at more than one location, you will need a Facility Number for each one. Each clinic location must have a unique facility number. Only one facility number is required per clinic.

There are two ways for physicians to submit panel lists:

1. Through your Electronic Medical Record (EMR) if you use MedAccess, Profile, Accuro, or MOIS.
2. Through the third-party billing service provider, Dr.Bill, which is provided at no cost.

Using EMRs

In order to submit your lists of empanelled patients using your EMR, you will need to be using MedAccess, Profile, Accuro, or MOIS. These EMRs have the bulk claiming functionality required to do this work. If you do not use one of these EMRs, then you will need to use Dr.Bill (more information available below).

Using Dr.Bill

Dr.Bill has worked closely with Doctors of BC and MSP Teleplan to create a secure patient panel submission service that is available to all family doctors at no cost. To submit your panel through Dr.Bill, visit their submission webpage for instructions. Helpful templates and training materials for preparing your extract for upload can also be found on EMR Resources for Panel Clean Up/Submission.

You must use Dr.Bill if you use an EMR that is listed according to this EMR flow diagram. You may also simply choose to use Dr.Bill instead of your EMR (MedAccess, Profile, Accuro, or MOIS). Please note Dr.Bill’s office is closed on statutory holidays. If you have more than one facility number, please contact HealthBcSupport@phsa.ca before signing up for Dr.Bill. They will provide you with additional details to ensure accurate panel uploads.

After submitting panel lists to MSP/Teleplan through your EMR or Dr.Bill, they will show up in the PAS within a few days. It is important to keep your PAS data up to date and in line with your EMR. Updated panels help everyone involved in primary care have a better picture of attachment in BC, as we collaborate to ensure people have access to a primary care provider.

Updated panel lists in the PAS are critical to ensure payments accurately reflect panel size when the new method is developed for calculating CLFP payments, or panel payments under the LFP Payment Model.

Please refer to the ongoing panel updates following bulk upload document for workflow considerations to keep your PAS panel list accurate and updated.

To add patients to panel: Send a $0 attachment code 98990 to MSP/Teleplan through your EMR. This will be reflected in the PAS within a few days. This code and process is only to be used after your full panel is submitted. You should only submit your entire panel as a bulk upload one time.

If you are adding a patient that you have previously removed from your panel within the PAS, you will need to contact the PAS support team for assistance.

How to remove patients from panel: Select the patient on your panel and click on the “remove” button in the PAS. Removing a patient in the PAS will not remove them from your EMR, so you will want to ensure the patient has also been inactivated in your EMR. Work is underway to integrate these systems in the future.

Physicians are encouraged to incorporate these steps for adding and removing patients into the daily workflow. It is also recommended that you review panel lists in the PAS regularly, and no less than on a quarterly basis, to ensure it is up to date and to correct any possible errors along the way. A quarterly check-in will also ensure that you do not need to update your password.

Physicians will be able to see updates in the PAS when adding patients to panels a few days after submitting the $0 fee code. When patients are removed from panel lists within the PAS, it is reflected immediately.

If you have uploaded your panel more than six weeks ago and do not see it in your clinic panel in the PAS, it may be stored in the “Patients Without a Clinic” tab on the PAS home page. Selecting all patients in the panel, then selecting “Change Clinic” will allow you to assign your panel to your clinic.

Updated panels will help everyone involved in primary care have a better picture of attachment in BC, as we work together to ensure people have access to a primary care provider. Updated panel lists in the PAS will also be critical to ensure payments accurately reflect panel size when the new method is developed for calculating CLFP payments, or panel payments under the LFP Payment Model.

Sometimes patients may appear on more than one panel list. A process is underway using billing data to help clarify situations where patients appear on multiple panel lists. Watch for more information on this process in the coming weeks.

Resources are available to help develop an accurate list of empanelled patients.