BC Surgical Diagnosis Prioritization Codes

BC Surgical Diagnosis Prioritization (BC Dx) Codes are a standardized system used in British Columbia (BC) to prioritize patients waiting for scheduled surgery or gastrointestinal endoscopy.

BC Dx Codes are based on a patient's medical condition and are required on all surgical booking forms. They help make sure patients with similar medical conditions are prioritized in a fair and consistent way across the province, regardless of where they receive care.

Code lists by specialty

All BC Dx Codes

BC Dx code list PDFs are organized by surgical specialty. Select a specialty to view or download its current code list.

Updated Specialty Code Lists will go-live March 31, 2027. The code list links below will be updated prior to go-live. For further information on the project, visit the information hub.

All BC Dx Code lists by specialty

Summary Links

Information hub

BC Dx Codes information

The purpose of BC Dx Codes and how they are meant to be assigned

What is a BC Diagnosis Prioritization Code?

A BC Dx Code is the clinical indication/reason a patient requires a scheduled surgery. This represents the surgeon’s clinical assessment of the patient.
Every BC Dx Code has an associated priority level with a standardized wait time benchmark agreed upon by surgeons across BC. This ensures patients with similar conditions are prioritized for surgery equitably, regardless of where in the province they are awaiting surgery.
BC Dx Codes are also used to identify patient populations waiting for and receiving surgery (e.g., cancer, bariatric, gender affirming, endoscopy, etc.).
BC Dx Codes are also used by health system partners to plan, project and assign resources required to meet health system surgical volumes.

What is the difference between scheduled/unscheduled and urgent/non-urgent surgery?

Unscheduled surgery is defined in BC as non-elective, emergency or unplanned.

Unscheduled surgery is required in less than 72 hours.
Add-on surgeries may be considered unscheduled or scheduled.
Unscheduled surgeries do not require a BC Dx Code.

Scheduled surgery is defined in BC as a planned, non-emergency surgery.

Scheduled surgeries are assigned priority levels based on clinical need, ranging from Priority 1 (target wait time within 72 hours to two weeks) to Priority 5 (target of up to 26 weeks).

Scheduled surgery is split into urgent and non-urgent categories:

Urgent scheduled: Adult priority levels 1 & 2 and Pediatric priority levels I, IIa & IIb.
Non-urgent scheduled: Adult priority levels 3, 3b, 4, and 5 and Pediatric priority levels III, IV, V, and VI.

How are patients added to waitlists and assigned BC Dx code?

BC Dx Codes are selected by the surgeon based on the clinical need(s) of their patient, not operational requirements.
The surgeon assigns the BC Dx Code when the patient is ready, willing and able to proceed with surgery. This is known as the “Date of Decision.”
A patient is not considered “waiting for surgery” until the health authority (HA) where the surgery will take place receives the booking form, known as the “Booking Form Received Date.”
Patients are scheduled for surgery based on diagnosis prioritization as part of first-in-first-out methodology.

What if there is a change in patient condition?

Surgeons can update the BC Dx Code if there is a change in the patient’s condition. Please refer to the HA’s surgical scheduling policy/guideline.

What if there is no Dx Code that matches the patient’s clinical indication?

Each specialty has an ”Other” BC Dx Code for each priority level.
The surgeon must provide a free-text description of the patient’s diagnosis when selecting an ”Other” BC Dx Code.
The free-text descriptions for ”Other” codes are reviewed by the BC SPR team to address gaps in the existing specialty code list. The BC SPR team reviews free-text descriptions submitted with "Other" codes to identify gaps in existing specialty code lists.
Surgeons are encouraged to reach out to the SPR team (sproffice@phsa.ca) if a diagnosis is missing from their specialty list.

Priority levels: wait time targets and definitions

SPR background and how BC Dx Code data is used

Benefits to patients, surgeons and across the system

How do BC Dx Codes benefit patients?

Patients are waitlisted with the same priority as others in the province with similar clinical conditions. This ensures equitable access to surgical care across BC.
Patients are prioritized based on evidence-based best practices.
Equitable access to surgical care strengthens trust in the health care system.

How do BC Dx Codes benefit surgeons?

BC Dx Codes are created by surgeons, for surgeons. This maintains clinical best practice and ensures patients receive surgical care equitably.
Patient prioritization is consistent across the province to promote fairness and ensure that patients with comparable clinical needs receive care within similar timeframes.
Standardized wait times inform resource allocation to support waitlist management.

How do BC Dx Codes benefit the health care system?

The BC Dx Codes assigned by surgeons and submitted to hospital booking offices inform the surgical waitlist and completed case data uploaded to the SPR each day. This data is used by health system partners across the province to support decision making, resource allocation, waitlist management, system planning and much more.

Health authority (HA) leadership:

HAs use this data to manage surgical access and surgical resources. For example, some HAs and/or committees may use the data as part of an operating room time allocation system and/or inpatient bed allocation.
HAs and the Ministry of Health use this data to perform waitlist audits and to identify and address “long waiter” patients whose surgical wait times are longer than the assigned clinical benchmark for their condition. This improves waitlist data quality and in turn, access to surgery.
BC Dx Codes play an important role in resource management and planning. For example, during periods of significant service disruption, the BC SPR data is used to identify patients whose procedures can be postponed or delayed based on priority level.

Ministry of Health:

The Ministry uses accurate and comprehensive SPR data to promote public transparency, monitor HA performance, support wait time reporting, inform future modelling and provide analyses for system partners.

Provincial programs:

BC Dx Codes help identify patient cohorts and support appropriate care processes facilitated by BC’s provincial clinical programs. For example, they can be used to identify gender-affirming surgery patients who should receive waitlist notifications by phone instead of mail, due to privacy and/or safety concerns.

BC Surgical Diagnosis Prioritization Review Project 2026

Training hub

Educational resources on the updated BC Dx Codes

Live training sessions will occur between January to April 2027. Recorded training sessions, once available, will be included below and organized by role.

Surgeons

Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) and Booking Clerks

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors

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BC Surgical Diagnosis Prioritization Codes

All BC Dx Codes

All BC Dx Code lists by specialty

Summary Links

BC Dx Codes information

The purpose of BC Dx Codes and how they are meant to be assigned

Priority levels: wait time targets and definitions

SPR background and how BC Dx Code data is used

Benefits to patients, surgeons and across the system

BC Surgical Diagnosis Prioritization Review Project 2026

Educational resources on the updated BC Dx Codes

Surgeons

Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) and Booking Clerks

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors

Contact us

Contact us

BC Dx Code - Review Request

BC Dx Code - Review Request

Content Editor

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​​​​All BC Dx Codes

​Al​l BC Dx Code lists by specialty

Summary Links

​​​BC Dx Codes information​

The purpose of BC Dx Codes and how they are meant to be assigned

Priority levels: wait time targets and definitions

SPR background and how BC Dx Code data is used

Benefits to patients, surgeons and across the system

BC Surgical Diagnosis Prioritization Review Project 2026

Educational resources on the updated BC Dx Codes

Surgeons

Medical Office Assistants (MOAs) and Booking Clerks

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) vendors

Content Editor

Diagnosis-Prioritization-Codes-Review-Project-

All BC Dx Codes

All BC Dx Code lists by specialty

BC Dx Codes information