Rapid Access to Consultative Expertise: An Innovative Model of Shared Care

Monday to Friday, 0800-1700 (excluding statutory holidays)

RACE is to provide support for primary care providers during usual hours patients are seen in their office.

Here is a full list of current specialty services by region.

See the RACEApp+ page for more information. If you need assistance with a password reset or email preference switch, please email RACE@phc.ca

• Fee Guide | Doctors of BC

• G10001: Urgent specialist advice – Initiated by a specialist, family physician or health care practitioner. Verbal, real-time response within 2 hours of the initiating physician’s or practitioner’s request

• G10002: Specialist Advice for Patient Management – Initiated by a Specialist, Family Physician, Allied Care Provider, or coordinator of the patient’s care. Verbal, real-time response within 7 days of initiating request – per 15 minutes or portion thereof

For Family Physicians working under Fee-for-service who are calling RACE to seek consultant advice (either by a specialist or a FP with consultative expertise):

• Use14018 FP Urgent Telephone Advice from a Specialist or FP with Consultative Expertise may be billed when the urgency of the patient’s condition requires a response within 2 hours. It may not be billed simply because the call to the specialist or FP with consultative expertise was made through the RACE line.

• Use 14077 FP Conference with Allied Care Provider and/or Physician fee for non-urgent calls placed through the RACE line, provided the conference lasts 15 minutes or greater portion thereof (minimum 8 minutes).

• Use 14067 FP Brief Clinical Conference with Allied Care Provider and/or Physician for shorter conferences, if the conference meets the fee criteria.

For Family Physicians working under Fee-for-service who are providing consultative advice initiated by a specialist, family physician or allied care provider:

• Use 14021 FP with Consultative Expertise Telephone/Video Advice – Initiated by a Specialist, Family Physician, or Allied Care Provider, Response within 2 hours

For physicians enrolled in the LFP Payment Schedule conferencing, consulting, and meeting with other physicians and/or other health professionals for a specific patient(s) is an eligible Indirect Patient Care (98011) activity. Click here to review the most up to date payment schedule to ensure appropriate billing for time spent on a RACE call or contact FP.billing@doctorsofbc.ca.

Yes. RACE is meant to provide support for primary care providers. It is important to keep in mind the communication channels and ensure decisions regarding care are communicated through the patient’s family physician.

If you do not receive a call back within 2 hours, please call 604-696-2131 (Press 0) or email RACE@phc.ca for administrative support.

We encourage requesters to use a standard, structured communication approach including:

• Pertinent medical history

• Current situation

• A specific question

When using the phone line, specialists will also require:

• Patient’s name

• DOB

• PHN

• Address (for Yukon patients)

According to billing code PG14018, the care plan must be recorded in the patient’s chart and must include patient identifiers, reason for the care plan, list of co-morbidities, safety risks, list of interventions, what referrals to be made, what follow-up has been arranged.

Documentation procedures differ between regulatory bodies. Please follow your regulatory body’s documentation process. For Family Physicians they are required to document the following:

1. Patient’s Name

2. Date of Service

3. Diagnosis

4. Reason for need of Clinical Action Plan

5. Name of specialist/GP with specialty training & their role in provision of care

6. Elements of the Clinical Action Plan determined

7. Patient risks based on assessment of appropriate domains (list of relevant co-morbidities and safety risks)

8. What referral will be made, what follow-up has been arranged (including timelines), as well as advanced planning information if appropriate.

9. Start times of service.

According to billing code PG10001, an adequate medical record/chart entry, including time of initiating request and time of response as well as advice given, and to who, is required.

RACE line specialists provide advice to primary care providers on specific patient care. The primary care provider remains the most responsible provider.

Patient data (including the patient’s name, date of birth and personal health number) is stored in RACEapp+ for one year.

You should always attempt to contact the patient’s specialist first. However, if you are unable to connect with them, consider placing a RACE request.

No. RACE is only for verbal telephone communication.

Please visit eCASE for e-mail advice.

Phone: 604-696-2131 (Press 0)

Email: RACE@phc.ca

Email RACE@providencehealth.bc.ca with information about your inquiry.

No. The RACE model supports patients of BC and Yukon.

If you have a patient with a specific inquiry, RACE has WCB as a specialty. Patient WCB claim number will need to be entered as part of the RACE request.

Some specialty areas provide support provincially, while other services have opted to answer requests from their respective region, due to current capacity. If a specialty service appears on your RACE app menu, then you can place a request for advice.

A BC medical license will cover specialists to provide telephone advice for a Yukon patient according to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and the Yukon Medical Council on Standard of Practice for Telemedicine (page 2 section 3.2 B).

Yukon Medical Council on Standard of Practice for Telemedicine