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Billing code

B988A — Geriatric home visit – first person seen (day, evening, weekend)

Geriatric home visit first-patient premium

Bill B988 for the first patient a geriatrician sees on a special home visit, at any time except nights.

Watch for: Only payable to a Geriatrics specialist or a physician with the Care of the Elderly exemption; nights use B987.

Code

B988A

Description

Geriatric home visit – first person seen (day, evening, weekend)

FHO+ basket

Not in the FHO+ base rate basket (Schedule 2 or 2B).

Effective date

Apr 1, 2026

Termination date

No end date

Explanation

Updated October 26, 2026

Premium for the first patient a geriatrician sees on a special home visit, weekdays, evenings, weekends and holidays (not nights).

What it covers

B988 is the first person seen premium in Special Visit Premium Table X, Geriatric Home Visit. It applies weekday daytime (with or without sacrifice of office hours), weekday evenings 17:00–24:00, and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 07:00–24:00, with no maximum per time period. Nights (00:00–07:00) are B987 (GP77).

A special visit is a visit the patient (or someone for them) asks for to get a non-elective service; in the patient's home it can be elective or non-elective (GP65). 'Home' means the patient's residence, including an apartment, retirement home, hotel, residence, shelter, correctional facility or group home, but not a hospital or long-term care home (GP4).

Billing rules

• Only payable to a specialist in Geriatrics (07) or a physician with a Ministry exemption to access bonus impact in Care of the Elderly (GP67).
• Paid for the first person seen at the destination (GP66).
• Bill it with the A-prefix assessment from the General Listings for the visit (GP69).
• Record the time of the visit in the medical record (GP69).
• Not payable during routine office hours or for walk-in patients, with H-prefix ED codes, or for a place scheduled to be open for patients (GP65).
• General and medical specific assessments are defined as services done somewhere other than the patient's home, so choose an assessment code that can be done in the home (GP21, GP23).

Often billed with

• B986 travel premium (GP77).

Common rejections

• AD9: OHIP describes this as 'Premium not allowed alone': a special visit premium must be billed with an A-prefix assessment from the General Listings on the same claim (GP65, GP69).

Related codes: B986, B987, B990, B992, A075, A074

Source: Schedule of Benefits (July 1, 2026), General Preamble, Special Visit Premiums, page GP77. Rules GP65–GP69.

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