New Resource for Referrals

Updated March 2012

The Community Healthcare and Resource Directory (CHARD) is a secure, web-based directory that helps B.C. healthcare providers make appropriate referrals. CHARD is chaired by the B.C. Medical Association and the Ministry of Health. It is operated by HealthLinkBC and is accessible only to physicians and their office staff.

In 2011, CDSBC agreed to participate in CHARD by providing listings of dentists and their specialties. This is part of our ongoing information sharing with the Ministry for the provider registry, which allows dentists to maintain prescription privileges. The information provided to the Ministry for each dentist includes name, practice address and phone number, registration number and email address.

It is up to individual dentists to provide further, referral-related information if they wish to do so, e.g. detailed descriptions of the services offered, hours of operation, referral forms and procedures, patient eligibility criteria and instructions, fee structures, etc. This will help physicians determine whether a patient is a suitable referral to that practice. To promote this, CHARD sent a letter to dentists in early March asking them to verify the information CDSBC provided, and asking them to provide “more details about you and your practice environment so that authenticated physicians can best understand your availability and expertise.”

Some dentists have expressed concern that their personal email addresses appeared in the CHARD letter. This is because if a dentist provides only a personal email address to CDSBC, and not a general one, CDSBC’s database will automatically populate the main email address with the personal one.

The CHARD directory is secure, accessible only to physicians and their staff, and the terms and conditions include an expectation that the information will not be shared except to facilitate referrals. In addition, dentists have the option to update their information – including replacing a personal email address with a general email address – by calling the CHARD support centre at 1-877-330-7322 or by returning the CHARD information collection form.