Patient Guide · October 2026
Roughly one in five adults in BC doesn't have a family doctor. If you're one of them and you're dealing with chronic migraine, excessive sweating, or jaw clenching, you may have run into a frustrating loop: clinics that offer Botox, but only if you bring a prescription from your own doctor.
Botox is a prescription medication in Canada. Getting therapeutic treatment actually involves four steps: a medical diagnosis, a prescription, the insurance paperwork (prior authorization, if your plan covers the drug), and the injections themselves. When we surveyed Botox providers across Victoria, Burnaby and Vancouver in 2026, several clinics told us plainly that patients must arrive with a prescription in hand - they perform step four, and steps one to three are your problem.
If you have a family doctor, that's an errand. If you don't, it can be a dead end: walk-in clinics are rarely set up to assess chronic migraine, start Botox, or manage the insurance process and follow-up that comes with it.
At my practice the loop collapses into one place. No referral is needed to book. The first visit is a medical assessment - confirming the diagnosis, reviewing what you've already tried, and deciding honestly whether Botox is the right tool. If it is, the prescription happens there, my office works with a specialty pharmacy that handles the insurance prior authorization, and treatment and follow-up stay under one roof. My injection fees are published: $250 for chronic migraine and $300 for hyperhidrosis, with TMJ dosing confirmed at assessment. Whether your plan covers the medication is confirmed before you commit - the full picture is in the insurance coverage guide.
This is not a route to a family doctor. Dr. Baldwin's practice is limited to the focused, consultation-based services described on this site - she is not able to take on family-practice patients, and booking a Botox assessment does not create an ongoing family-practice relationship. If you need a family doctor, the Health Connect Registry is the provincial waitlist, and Urgent and Primary Care Centres can help in the meantime.
Gaps in records are normal and workable - the assessment starts from wherever you are.
Related reading: Is Botox Covered by Insurance in BC? · Migraine Botox · Hyperhidrosis · TMJ Botox · Private doctor in Victoria
Diagnosis, prescription, insurance coordination and treatment in one place, in Victoria and Burnaby.