Surescripts, the nation’s largest health information network, continued to expand CompletEPA™, its electronic prior authorization (ePA) solution with Agastha enterprise healthcare software and Axon HCS, an ePA processor. CompletEPA is already connected to a majority of the market through five pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and 11 technology vendors, reaching 290,000 physicians nationwide.
“Prior authorization is an important yet inefficient administrative task that costs providers precious time and money while increasing wait time for patients to receive their much needed medication,” said Mike Pritts, Executive Vice President of Product Innovation at Surescripts. “CompletEPA connects physicians with patients’ health plans to help them realize benefits of prior authorization without enduring the pain of using outdated and slow phone, fax and portal systems.”
Surescripts CompletEPA is the first automated ePA solution that is fully integrated into a physician’s existing EHR workflow as well as with nationwide PBMs, combined with real-time access to formulary and benefits eligibility information. CompletEPA simplifies the prior authorization process by using the software systems providers are already familiar with and leveraging the existing e-prescribing process.
The single point of contact through Surescripts allows providers to complete the prior authorization process accurately and efficiently, in many cases before the patient leaves the office. By contrast, some portal solutions on the market are not truly electronic and can take days to process. Instead, they are an automated form of faxing PA requests that require manual review and provide limited efficiency gains for PBMs or patients.
“Surescripts CompletEPA enables our EHR users to connect directly with pharmacy benefit managers through a simplified, seamless process for obtaining prior authorizations electronically,” said Mohan Korrapati, Chief Executive Officer of Agastha. “Ultimately, this streamlined, electronic process saves prescribers time and money and allows them to provide more timely and efficient patient care.”
Prior authorization is a time consuming process that requires a variety of forms, faxes and phone calls to collect information to review and determine prescription coverage. A report published by Health Affairs in August 2009 found that physicians spend an average of eight hours each week at an annual cost of up to $70,000 on filing paperwork, faxing and phone calls to process prior authorizations. This added time delays treatment and can cause patients to lose interest in treatment altogether, with 20-30 percent of patients abandoning their prescribed medications at the pharmacy.
”Our work with Surescripts allows for functionality never before reached in the market for prescribing physicians, dispensing pharmacies, payers/PBMs, and even patients,” said Bob M. Charles, Executive Vice President of Strategies at Axon.
Axon HCS provides health insurers and PBMs with an automated ePA platform. Payers using Axon can receive PA requests from the Surescripts network and provide automated responses regarding eligibility and policy concordance in real time.
About Surescripts
Surescripts is committed to unleashing the potential of American healthcare by creating a more connected and collaborative healthcare system. Our nationwide health information network connects doctor’s offices, hospitals, pharmacists, and health plans through an integrated and technology neutral platform. For more information, go to www.surescripts.com and follow us at twitter.com/surescripts.
