In the first national physician survey conducted by the American Medical Association, study researchers found that 78 percent of the 2,400 participating physicians believe insurers mandate preauthorization requirements for an unreasonable list of tests, procedures and drugs. Health insurers often require physicians to ask permission first before performing a treatment, which consumes a significant amount of time and complicates medical decisions. On average, doctors spend 20 hours a week completing these insurance prerequisites, which costs physicians between $23.2 and $31 billion annually and more importantly, take time away from patient care.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross remembers the good old days in the 1970s and 1980s when he was in medical practice. Back then, “things used to get done at the speed of lightning” due to the absence of such cumbersome preauthorizations, he says. “Obtaining a blood test or an x-ray was just a matter of calling the radiologist down the hall to administer the test and then calling back a few hours later to get the results — it was simple then.” He believes that insurance companies put complex and confusing requirements in place to delay and deny coverage, often inappropriately.
Former AMA President Dr. J. James Rohack is in agreement. “Nearly all physicians surveyed said that streamlining the preauthorization process is important and 75 percent believe an automated process would increase efficiency.”