H-Link is Alberta Health's secure electronic system for submitting medical claims to the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP). For clinic owners and billing leads, the practical question is not what H-Link is — it is how claims move from your EMR to payment without a separate billing tool creating duplicate work.
Official definition
H-Link is free to use. Claims are sent by accredited submitters approved to access the system. Physicians need an active Business Arrangement linked to a submitter. See Alberta.ca — H-Link electronic claims system
The H-Link workflow in five steps
Obtain a Pract ID and Business Arrangement
New physicians register with Alberta Health and receive a Pract ID. A Business Arrangement (BA) links your billing activity to an accredited submitter. Without a valid BA, claims cannot be accepted.
Choose billing software and a submitter path
Your EMR or billing module drafts claims. An accredited submitter approved to use H-Link transmits claim files to Alberta Health on your behalf. Some clinics use their EMR vendor; others use a dedicated billing service.
Draft claims from clinical encounters
Best practice is to link billing to signed encounters so service dates, fee codes, and diagnoses match documentation. MOAs and billing leads catch fewer errors at month end when claims originate in the chart.
Validate before export
Pre-submission validation catches common rejection patterns: wrong BA, invalid fee combinations, missing referring physician data, and date mismatches. Fix errors before batch export, not after remittance advice.
Export, transmit, reconcile
Validated claims batch export through your H-Link workflow. Reconcile remittance advice against submitted batches and document rejected lines for correction and resubmission.
Business Arrangements and PCPCM
Standard FFS claims use one BA. PCPCM time codes (PC001 through PC004) require a PCPCM Business Arrangement. Submitting time claims under the wrong BA is a common rejection. If your clinic is on PCPCM, read our PCPCM billing guide alongside this article.
Private pay alongside H-Link
Hybrid clinics bill AHCIP and private-pay services. Aesthetics, memberships, and non-insured visits need Stripe invoicing and POS tools in the same platform as provincial claims — not a separate med-spa stack beside your EMR.
LifeLink H-Link workflow
LifeLink clinics draft claims in the EMR from signed encounters, run pre-submission validation, and batch export through their H-Link workflow. AI-assisted billing code suggestions speed up coding — with clinician review on every claim before export.
Alberta H-Link billing in LifeLink covers enrollment, validation, PCPCM time setup, and private pay in one platform.