Prescription Solutions launches unique online service to streamline Prior Authorization requests

Prescription Solutions, a leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) organization and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, has launched a unique online service to streamline submission, review and approval of Prior Authorization requests.

Prior Authorization is the process in which physicians request certain prescription drugs that require pre-approval from a patient's health insurance plan.

The new online service enables physicians and health care professionals to submit a real-time Prior Authorization request any time of the day or night, any day of the week. Prescription Solutions is the only major PBM offering the service, which includes a convenient auto-population feature that can intuitively provide 95 percent of a patient's information and medication history from previously submitted claims, saving time when filling in patient information.

"We have made it possible for our Claim and Prior Authorization systems to 'talk' to each other in order to improve service for physicians. This is just one of the many ways we are applying innovative technologies to improve administrative efficiency, giving physicians more time to spend with patients," said Joseph Addiego, M.D., Prescription Solutions' senior medical director.

Prescription Solutions' online Prior Authorization service uses a simplified procedure completed in a few easy steps. After logging on at www.prescriptionsolutions.com with his or her unique National Provider Identifier (NPI) number and password, a physician or health care professional can submit patient details securely online, enter a diagnosis and medical justification for the requested medication, and, in many cases, receive authorization instantly.

With just a few mouse clicks, physicians can submit information that previously had to be collected by phone or fax. If needed, additional clinical review typically can be completed in less than 72 hours. Also, physicians and health care professionals can use the new service to check on the status of a Prior Authorization request, even if it was not submitted online.