Frequently asked questions

The first private check is free for everyone, no payment details asked. For BC residents with MSP, the clinician assessment is billed to MSP, exactly like a regular doctor's visit, so there is no visit fee. If you live elsewhere in Canada, or in BC without MSP, the assessment is not covered and a private fee applies; the amount is shown in full before you are asked to pay anything.

Medication cost is separate from the assessment. Many private drug plans help, PharmaCare may help with eligible medications, and the Carebridge pharmacists will check your coverage and quote your exact cost before anything is dispensed. Details on pricing and coverage.

The two first-line medications, naltrexone and acamprosate, are Health Canada approved and recommended by the 2023 Canadian guideline for high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder, the American Psychiatric Association's 2018 guideline, and the VA and DoD guideline. Across many randomized trials, they reduce heavy drinking and support abstinence.

Honesty requires the second half of the answer too: results vary from person to person, and no reputable service can promise you a specific outcome. What medication reliably does is change the odds, often substantially, especially combined with even light-touch support.

No. Drinking less and stopping are both valid, evidence-supported goals, and Canadian guidance explicitly recognizes reduction as a legitimate aim of treatment. You choose your goal, you can change it at any point, and nobody here will treat a reduction goal as a lesser choice.

Yes. The clinicians who assess and prescribe are physicians and nurse practitioners at partner clinics, licensed in BC and physically located in BC, which is what allows them to check BC medication records through PharmaNet. They can assess adults anywhere in Canada. The difference is only the fee: BC residents with MSP pay no visit fee; outside BC, or without MSP, a private fee applies and is shown before anything is charged. Medication can be delivered discreetly to any BC address or picked up at Carebridge on Main Street in Vancouver; outside BC, staff confirm delivery options or transfer the prescription to a pharmacy near you. If your prescriptions were filled outside BC, the intake asks you to list them and photograph the labels, since PharmaNet will not have them.

Privacy is built into every step. Your information is encrypted, stored and processed in Canada, and handled under BC's Personal Information Protection Act and Canada's PIPEDA. Delivery arrives in plain packaging. We contact you only through channels you have consented to, and we never send personal health information to analytics or marketing tools.

We do recommend letting your family doctor know, because coordinated care is usually better care, and with your consent we will handle that for you. If you prefer to keep this separate for now, that preference is respected.

Tell us; the screening asks specifically. Naltrexone must not be combined with opioids, including many prescription painkillers. That does not shut the door on care. The clinician will discuss alternatives, such as acamprosate, which many people on opioid pain medication can use. The pharmacists also verify prescriptions against PharmaNet as an extra layer of safety.

If you drink heavily every day, stopping suddenly can be dangerous, occasionally life threatening, and should not be attempted alone. This is one of the most important things we screen for. If you have had withdrawal symptoms before, especially seizures or hallucinations, your clinician will plan a safe route, which may include medically supervised withdrawal or a gradual approach.

If you are experiencing severe symptoms right now, such as shaking, confusion, seizures, or hallucinations, please call 911 or go to your nearest emergency department. See Get help now.

Sometimes medication is not the right tool, or not yet. If so, you will get an honest explanation and practical next steps, which may include counselling options, community supports, or a recommendation for in-person care. For BC residents with MSP there is still no visit fee, because the assessment is billed to MSP regardless of the outcome; a private fee, where it applies, covers the assessment itself, not a particular result. What we promise is a careful evaluation, not a particular result.

No. Every prescription can be filled at any pharmacy in Canada you choose, and your care here does not change if you go elsewhere. Carebridge is the coordinating partner, offering free discreet delivery, PharmaNet checks, coverage checks, and pharmacist follow-up, but it is an option, never a condition.

A way of using naltrexone: taken about an hour before drinking, it blunts alcohol's reward, and over months the learned pull of drinking fades. The underlying medication is well supported by evidence for reducing drinking. Trials of the specific named method are more limited, and no major guideline names it, which we say plainly. Read the full explanation on our Sinclair Method page.

The free check takes about 5 minutes. The full intake usually takes 15 to 25 minutes, and you can pause and resume as often as you like. After you submit, Carebridge's pharmacy staff review your file and contact you privately within one business day to arrange your assessment with a licensed BC clinician at one of our partner clinics.

Two groups, with clearly separate roles. Carebridge's pharmacy staff review your file for completeness and safety flags, answer coverage and delivery questions, and arrange your assessment. An independent, licensed BC physician or nurse practitioner at a partner clinic then conducts the assessment and makes every diagnostic and prescribing decision using their own clinical judgment. The pharmacy never prescribes, and you will be told which clinic and clinician you are being connected with.