Practice impact of prior authorizations
Facts at your fingertips
By Emily Margosian, assistant editor, October 1, 2020
Prior authorizations pose significant administrative burdens on dermatology practices, with the process often involving great expense and labor. According to the AAD 2020 Prior Authorization Survey, dermatology offices have spent on average over $40,000 on additional staff to help manage the prior authorization process, but over half of medical assistants already working in dermatology practices have said they take primary responsibility. Of staff assigned to handle prior authorizations, those surveyed report that the process on average takes up 3.5 hours of work each day. Practice administrators have also estimated that they could schedule on average 5-8 additional patients per day in exchange for time spent on prior authorizations.
How can physicians take some of the pain out of prior authorizations? The Academy’s popular online letter generator allows dermatologists to easily create appeal letters to overturn denials for prior authorizations. Access it. See the graphic below for more on how the prior authorization burden differs across practice types.
