The pitfalls of prior authorization for prescription drugs

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. One of the things that I dread the most about January 1 is that it’s the start of “prior authorization (PA) season” for prescription medications. It is time consuming and frustrating, plus it often jeopardizes patient safety and quality of care. A recent Viewpoint in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) describes PA programs, including “step therapy,” the requirement that patients try and fail a specific number of preferred drugs before a more expensive covered drug or a non-formulary drug will be approved. The article also identifies some of the problems with these requirements and proposes solutions. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Meds Medications Source Type: blogs