News & updates

Following a pause, the Province is restarting the Digital Referrals & Orders (DRO) program(External link), which enables physicians to send, receive, and track referrals, diagnostic orders, and Special Authority requests electronically. By reducing reliance on fax and paper-based processes, DRO aims to improve visibility, coordination, and efficiency throughout the referral process and support more timely, coordinated patient care.

Clinic onboarding: Onboarding will occur in phases, starting on Vancouver Island and expanding across the province over the coming months. Community-based primary care and specialist clinics in all regions of BC can submit an intake form(External link) now to express interest in onboarding. Planning is also underway to support implementation in BC health authority settings, with an initial focus on high referral volume areas within BC Cancer, Labs, Medical Imaging, and Primary Care.

Learn more: Interested in what the DRO restart means for your practice? Register for an information session(External link) on October 14, 2026, to learn more about the program, its phased implementation, who can participate, and how to get involved.

Some kind of update here

Physicians from across the province worked together on how to simplify the MRI requisition process, specifically electronic ordering in OceanMD. Read more about the engagement process, outcomes, and how this contributes to broader work underway to reduce administrative burden. [Link to Ashleen's WWH report].