In the News: How a New CMS Rule Could Change Prior Authorization

What if prior authorization decisions arrived in seconds, not days? A newly proposed CMS rule could make that the standard for prescriptions, not the exception—and the foundation to deliver it is already in place.

Frank Harvey, Chief Executive Officer for Surescripts, makes the case for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' newly proposed Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs Proposed Rule (CMS-0062-P), and why the timing is right.

Harvey discusses how:

• Prior authorization was designed to make care safer and more cost-effective, but too often manual processes slow access.
• The interoperability foundation now exists to return authorization decisions in seconds or minutes, often before a patient leaves the point of care.
• CMS-0062-P would extend electronic prior authorization to every prescription under federally funded health plans.

Read the Forbes article.