Alberta's Primary Care Physician Compensation Model (PCPCM) is a hybrid model for enrolled family physicians. It combines discounted fee-for-service encounter billing, time-based codes billed in 15-minute increments, and monthly panel payments tied to panel size and complexity.
If you are configuring your EMR for PCPCM, you need the right Business Arrangement (BA), a clear time-tracking workflow, and billing software that exports H-Link claims correctly. LifeLink supports all of this out of the box.
What PCPCM changes from pure FFS
Under PCPCM, in-basket fee codes are discounted and physicians receive panel payments (roughly 20% of PCPCM compensation) based on panel size and complexity. Time-based billing covers direct patient care, indirect panel work, and after-hours or weekend care at different rates.
Time codes: PC001 through PC004
Time is tracked cumulatively across the day and submitted within 90 days. After-hours direct care (PC003) is capped at 20% of annual hours. All time claims must use your PCPCM Business Arrangement, not your standard FFS BA.
| Code | Type | Billing unit |
|---|---|---|
| PC001 | Direct care | 15-minute increments |
| PC002 | Indirect care | 15-minute increments |
| PC003 | After-hours direct | 15-minute increments |
| PC004 | Weekend and holiday direct | 15-minute increments |
Business Arrangements: the most common rejection cause
Every H-Link claim is tied to a Business Arrangement number. PCPCM time codes require a PCPCM BA. Encounter claims under PCPCM use different rules than legacy FFS. Configure default BA selection in your EMR billing settings and train billing staff to verify BA before batch export.
LifeLink supports H-Link claim drafting, validation, and PCPCM time billing configuration. During onboarding, we map each provider's PCPCM BA and confirm which claim types each clinician bills.
EMR setup checklist for PCPCM clinics
- Confirm each physician's PCPCM Business Arrangement with Alberta Health.
- Configure default BA selection and time-code templates in LifeLink billing settings.
- Train clinicians on cumulative time tracking and 90-day submission windows.
- Run pre-submission validation on H-Link exports to catch BA and code mismatches early.
- Reconcile remittance advice monthly and document rejected claims for staff retraining.
How LifeLink fits
LifeLink drafts H-Link claims from signed encounters, validates before export, and supports PCPCM time billing setup. Book a demo and we will map your PCPCM BA and billing lead workflow to LifeLink during onboarding.