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Billing code

Q310A — FHO+ hourly direct patient care

FHO+ hourly direct care

FHO physicians bill Q310A for time spent on in-person or live virtual care to enrolled patients, in 15-minute units per day.

Watch for: Since May 1, 2026, hourly codes billed at $0.00 are rejected; bill the dollar value of the units claimed.

Code

Q310A

Description

FHO+ hourly direct patient care

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

FHO+ hourly code for direct patient care: in-person and synchronous virtual care to enrolled patients, billed in 15-minute units a day.

What it covers

Q310A pays FHO physicians by the hour for time spent personally providing clinical services to enrolled patients, in person or by synchronous virtual care. It includes phone care given while in the office, and clinical teaching given at the same time as patient care (Agreement p.61 §6.1(i)).

It is one of the four FHO+ hourly codes (Q310A–Q313A) in the April 2026 FHO agreement, not the Schedule or Appendix Q, payable to FHO and FHO contracted physicians (Agreement p.61 §6.1).

Billing rules

• Billed in 15-minute units per day, totalled across enrolled patients; 8 minutes or more left over counts as a unit (Agreement p.63 §6.3–6.4).
• Only in the usual family practice setting, including LTC homes and home visits, for enrolled patients (Agreement p.61 §6.1).
• Not for ED, in-hospital work (including labour and delivery), anaesthesia, surgical assist, Independent Health Facilities, non-enrolled patients, uninsured services or travel time (Agreement p.63 §6.5).
• All hourly codes together: at most 14.0 hours a day and 240.0, 248.6, 257.1 or 265.7 hours in a 28-, 29-, 30- or 31-day month (Agreement p.63–64 §6.6).
• Phone care given while you are not in the usual clinic setting is billed as Q311A, not Q310A (Agreement p.61 §6.1(ii)).
• Keep records of total direct care time for Ministry review (Agreement p.64 §6.8).
• Physicians not affiliated with an FHO get EPA, and FHO locums must bill hourly codes under the FHO group number (INFOBulletin 260309, per APEX's EPA error guide).

Often billed with

• The fee codes for the services themselves: in-basket services to enrolled patients are still claimed and paid the 30% shadow billing premium, or 50% for the codes listed in INFOBulletin 260502 (Agreement p.59 §4.3).
• Q312A and Q313A on the same day for indirect care and clinical administration time, within the monthly limits (Agreement p.64 §6.7).

Common rejections

• V41: Since May 1, 2026, hourly codes billed at $0.00 reject V41 for service dates from April 1, 2026; bill the value of the units claimed (INFOBulletin 260501).
• VH1: The health number on the claim was blank or invalid; check how your billing software fills the patient fields on hourly claims.
• EPA: The physician isn't affiliated with an FHO, or an FHO locum billed without the FHO group number (INFOBulletin 260309).
• A3G: The Ministry's description for A3G is 'fee billed low'; check that the fee submitted matches the value of the units claimed.

Related codes: Q311, Q312, Q313

Source: Not in the Schedule of Benefits; FHO Physician Payment Agreement (April 2026), Appendix I §6 Hourly Payments, pages 61–64

APEX checks every paid claim against the Schedule of Benefits and flags codes billed below what the visit qualified for. See how APEX works · Pricing