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How Healthcare Clinics Handle Prior Authorizations?

Healthcare professionals are increasingly vocal about the growing burden of prior authorizations. One medical assistant shared: “I’m so sick of always doing PAs at my office on top of everything else (rooming patients, reminder calls, answering patient calls/portal messages).”

This frustration reflects a common struggle: PAs are time-consuming, often poorly tracked, and unevenly distributed among staff. Clinics are experimenting with different systems, from rotating assignments to dedicated PA staff, but many are still facing inefficiencies and stress.

Rotating Prior Authorizations Creates Gaps

In many practices, prior authorizations rotate between medical assistants. One user explained: “We rotate each week between about 4/5 MAs and that week there’s less work for that MA so they can do PAs, but between weeks PAs fall through or they didn’t get all done or no one followed up.”

This rotation leads to missed deadlines and confusion about responsibilities. Staff burnout rises when PAs pile up, especially if someone calls out or if the week’s workload increases unexpectedly.

Clinical Staff Struggle to Balance PAs With Patient Care

Medical assistants report that juggling PAs alongside clinical duties is unsustainable. One user noted: “It was impossible for us medical assistants to get it done on top of doing everything else.”

Others described frustration when MAs were responsible while nurses or managers were not assisting. “My office makes all us MAs do them even though we have 4 nurses on staff who are more than capable of helping out but don’t.”

The added workload reduces time for patient-facing tasks and leads to staff dissatisfaction.

Specialty Clinics Face Heavier PA Burden

In specialty practices, PAs are even more complex. A GI staff member explained: “It’s specialty medications and biologics but our providers normally like to do the appeal process so it makes it hard to switch between weeks because we’re not all on the same page on what’s denied and what needs an appeal.”

A rheumatology worker agreed: “We deal with a lot of specialty meds. I do the PAs on the front end and the reimbursements after. None of the clinical staff in my office would remotely have the time.”

Specialty medications often require appeals, peer-to-peers, and detailed payer documentation, making ad hoc or rotating systems unreliable.

Dedicated PA Staff Improve Consistency

Several clinics resolved these challenges by hiring staff dedicated solely to prior authorizations. “My office hired a specific person to handle all of the prior authorizations… it is wonderful,” one professional reported.

Another shared: “My office was bought by a health system and they had the LPN there transition to nurse navigator. She does all of our PAs.”

Dedicated PA staff reduce errors, improve tracking, and allow clinical staff to focus on patients.

Centralized and Remote Teams Provide Relief

Some organizations centralized PAs into specific departments or remote teams. A medical assistant wrote: “There is now a dedicated team, off site, that handles them all. It has taken a huge load off my shoulders and lowered my stress immensely.”

Another added: “The old clinic I worked at had a remote nurse who did all the PAs. It was nice for the providers.”

Centralization creates consistency across practices, ensures deadlines are met, and reduces stress on frontline staff.

Tracking Systems Help Manage Workload

A cardiology practice shared their structured approach: “We document our PAs within a shared Excel spreadsheet with columns for date, patient name, MD name, status, and comments. This way we can track whose started a PA, what the current status is, and update as we follow up.”

Organized tracking prevents missed authorizations and makes workload distribution clearer across staff.

Dedicated Support for Prior Authorizations

Healthcare professionals report: “It was impossible for us MAs to get it done on top of doing everything else.” Rotating or inconsistent PA systems cause delays, denials, and staff burnout.

Stop Prior Authorization Backlogs and Denials

Staffingly provides dedicated Prior Authorization Specialists who:
✓ Submit and track all PAs through payer portals
✓ Handle appeals, follow-ups, and documentation
✓ Prevent delays that impact patient care

With operations in India, Pakistan, and the Philippines, Staffingly specialists often hold advanced healthcare degrees including MDs, Nurses, and PharmDs. They combine clinical knowledge with administrative expertise.

HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 compliance ensures patient data protection. And with costs starting at $9.50/hour (under $2,000 monthly), practices save up to $4,000 per month compared to hiring local staff.

What Did We Learn?

Rotating PAs between medical assistants often leads to missed follow-ups and incomplete submissions.

Clinical staff like MAs are overloaded when PAs are added to patient care responsibilities.

Specialty clinics such as GI and rheumatology face a heavier PA burden due to biologics and specialty medications.

Dedicated PA staff or nurse navigators significantly improve workflow and reduce denials.

Centralized or remote PA teams remove stress from frontline staff and bring consistency.

Simple tracking systems, like shared Excel sheets, help clinics monitor the status of authorizations.

What People Are Asking?

How do clinics usually handle prior authorizations?

Some rotate tasks between MAs, but many report better results with dedicated PA staff or centralized teams.

Should MAs, nurses, or managers handle PAs?

MAs often carry the load, but clinics say nurse navigators, office managers, or dedicated PA staff handle them more effectively.

Is it better to rotate staff or assign a dedicated PA person?

Dedicated staff provide consistency and fewer missed authorizations, while rotating systems often cause confusion and delays.

How do specialty clinics manage complex medication PAs?

Specialties like GI and rheumatology require appeals, peer-to-peers, and payer follow-ups, which work best with staff dedicated only to PAs.

Do centralized PA teams reduce denials and burnout?

Yes. Clinics with centralized or remote PA teams report fewer delays, less staff stress, and better authorization tracking.

Disclaimer

For informational purposes only; not applicable to specific situations.

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