6 ways technology can ease the prior-authorization burden

Prior authorization remains one of the most stubborn administrative hurdles in modern medicine, routinely slowing care, frustrating clinicians and overwhelming practice staff who are already stretched thin. In recent years, physicians have described the process as everything from “a full-time job layered on top of patient care” to “a bureaucratic maze designed to delay treatment.” Those concerns aren’t theoretical: A Medical Economics analysis found that prior authorization adds significant cost and disruption to daily operations, often forcing practices to dedicate entire teams to navigating payer requirements. At the same time, patients are increasingly caught in the middle, facing delays in medication refills, imaging approvals and specialist visits.

But there is a growing countertrend. Practices that once relied on fax machines, phone calls and manual data entry are beginning to adopt digital tools that automate paperwork, surface payer rules in real time and reduce the back-and-forth that contributes to denials and delays. Technology isn’t eliminating prior authorization entirely — but as pressures mount, it’s becoming one of the most reliable ways for practices to reclaim time and restore workflow efficiency.