If you are a healthcare provider, you know that when medication needs approval, the day often turns into a scramble of phone calls, faxes, and yet another portal login.
Your staff toggle between screens, retype the same patient details, and wait on hold while patients wait for care. It’s exhausting, and it pulls your team away from the work that actually matters.
But if you’re a DrChrono user, you have a solution within your reach. Through its CoverMyMeds integration, DrChrono brings electronic prior authorization (ePA) right into your electronic health record (EHR). No separate systems. No duplicate data entry.
Think of electronic prior authorization not as a new tool to learn, but as a workflow upgrade already available to you.
In this article, we’ll walk you through how embedded ePA can transform your medication approval process, enabling seamless workflow integration, time savings, and a lighter administrative load. Let’s unpack how it works and why it matters.
The Hidden Cost of Manual Prior Authorization
To say that manual prior authorization is expensive is an understatement. The American Medical Association (AMA) reports a study that found that prior authorization costs physicians $26.7 billion and patients $35.8 billion annually.
This cost is not just in dollars, but in time, focus, and staff morale. When your team relies on phone calls, faxes, and external portal logins, the whole process fractures into disconnected steps. Here’s the toll that fragmented workflow takes on your practice:
- Constant context switching. Your staff jumps between your EHR and a separate portal, re-entering patient and medication data by hand. Every switch is a chance for delay and error.
- Reduced operational visibility. Portal-completed authorizations happen outside your system, so you lose insight into user behavior and key metrics.
- Revenue leakage. Depending on outside portals means value that could stay within your practice leaks out to third-party platforms instead.
These issues are not due to a lack of professional knowledge. The tools they’ve been handed simply weren’t built to work together. Thankfully, in-application electronic prior authorization software fixes the disconnect by bringing the entire process into one place. Let’s look at how.
RELATED CONTENT: Electronic Prior Authorization – Why Your Practice Needs this Technology Now
How Electronic Prior Authorization Works Inside Your EHR Software
Electronic prior authorization software like CoverMyMeds works best when it lives inside your e-prescribing workflow, not beside it. When ePA is embedded directly in DrChrono, there’s no need to switch systems or re-enter patient and medication information.
The data your provider already captured flows straight into the authorization request. Even more, DrChrono initiates ePAs automatically at the point of prescribing.
And when an authorization slips through the cracks, retrospective ePA initiation lets you pick it back up. This process lets the clinical staff manage pharmacy-initiated prior authorization requests directly inside the EHR’s Message Center and patient charts, replacing manual faxes with electronic workflows.
How Retrospective ePA Works in DrChrono
- The pharmacy flags that a prescription needs a prior authorization and transmits an electronic request from CoverMyMeds right into DrChrono.
- DrChrono checks and validates information like the patient, medication, and prescriber details.
- Staff view and complete missing clinical questions, and track the authorization status straight from the platform instead of relying on phone calls or paper faxes.
- The final approval, denial, or request for more information returns straight to your DrChrono Message Center.
Bottom line: When an ePA is embedded in an EHR, providers stay in their existing workflow the entire time, allowing your practice to capture revenue that would otherwise be lost to external portal usage.
Seamless Workflow Integration at the Point of Prescribing
When you write a prescription, an integrated ePA tool instantly surfaces any prior authorization requirement right there on the screen. No hunting or guessing. The requirement appears exactly when and where it’s applicable.
Because this happens inside DrChrono, your staff stays in one system instead of toggling between platforms. That single-platform experience eliminates the need to log in to the external CoverMyMeds portal.
Real-Time Determination and Faster Approvals
Traditional prior authorization can drag on for days, and in some cases weeks, as messages bounce back and forth between the practice, the payer, and the pharmacy. This can cause treatment delays and other issues that affect patient care.
According to the American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC), getting prior authorizations approved can result in time delays in patients receiving adequate care, with reports stating that 94% of patients experience care delays and 78% report the abandonment of treatment.
An AMA survey also reported that prior authorization issues lead to higher utilization of health care resources. Here’s how:
- 68% said delayed prior authorization leads to additional office visits
- 29% reported hospitalizations due to delayed or denied prior authorizations
But there are ways to speed up this process. Accurate paperwork and the right tools can reduce delays and stress. For instance, integrated electronic prior authorization solutions deliver coverage determinations in real time. That means far less back-and-forth and much faster answers.
When approvals arrive quickly, patients get their medications sooner. You reduce treatment delays and close the care gaps that put patient health at risk. In short: embedded ePA turns a slow, scattered process into a fast, connected one.
Recovering Missed Electronic Prior Authorizations
When a prescription goes out, the prior authorization can get missed in the rush of a busy day. Weeks later, the refill stalls and the pharmacy calls asking questions your team now has to chase down.
Integrated ePA tools catch these gaps before they become problems. The system flags authorizations that were missed during the initial prescription window, then helps you recover them. That means fewer delayed refills, fewer surprise pharmacy callbacks, and a smoother experience for your patients. Instead of reacting to problems after the fact, you get ahead of them.
Reducing Administrative Burden for Practice Staff
Before discussing how ePA reduces administrative burden, let’s compare manual prior authorization with electronic.
Manual vs. Electronic Prior Authorization
| Manual Prior Authorization | ePA | |
| Submission | Fax, phone calls, email attachments, and payer-specific web portals | Standardized transaction integrated right into your EHR |
| Data Entry | Copying and pasting patient and insurance data between systems | Structured data fields for faster, more consistent capture |
| Document Handling | Printing and scanning clinical documents by hand | Digital submission within your existing workflow |
| Routing & Workflow | Fragmented, staff-driven handoffs across disconnected tools | Automated routing that keeps things moving |
| Tracking | Tracked through spreadsheets, sticky notes, and shared inboxes | Real-time or near-real-time status updates from the payer |
Bottom line: Manual prior authorization eats up hours in data entry, phone calls, and follow-up chasing. Prior authorization software strips that burden down to its essentials.
With embedded ePA in DrChrono, the manual steps needed to initiate an authorization drop from 15+ steps to just 3 key actions. That’s a dramatic reduction in effort per request.
When your staff isn’t buried in repetitive tasks, they’re free for higher-value work: supporting patients, improving processes, and keeping your medical practice running smoothly. Lighter workloads also mean less burnout and happier teams.
Getting the Most from Your Electronic Prior Authorization Tool
If you’re already using DrChrono, you’re closer to a better workflow than you might think. Here’s how to fully adopt in-application ePA and keep the efficiency gains coming:
- Train your whole team. Make sure everyone who touches prescriptions knows how ePA surfaces during e-prescribing. A short training session pays off quickly.
- Stop using the external portal. Encourage staff to complete authorizations inside DrChrono, so you keep visibility and value within your practice.
- Monitor recovered authorizations. Regularly review the ePAs your system flags and recovers. This helps you spot patterns and prevent future misses.
- Track your metrics. Watch time-to-approval and completed authorizations to measure improvement over time.
- Standardize your process. Build ePA into your everyday prescribing routine, so it becomes second nature, not an afterthought.
Key takeaways to consider:
- Manual prior authorization fragments your workflow and quietly drains time and revenue.
- Embedded electronic prior authorization software eliminates system switching and manual data re-entry.
- Integrated ePA recovers missed authorizations, preventing delayed refills and pharmacy callbacks.
- DrChrono reduces manual ePA steps from 15+ to just 3, easing the load on your staff.
Ready to see the difference? Contact DrChrono today to learn how electronic prior authorization software built into your EHR saves time, reduces administrative burden, and improves your operational efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions: Electronic Prior Authorization
What is electronic prior authorization?
Electronic prior authorization, or ePA, is a digital process for requesting and receiving medication approvals from payers. Instead of relying on phone calls and faxes, ePA submits requests electronically, often directly from within your EHR.
How does electronic prior authorization differ from traditional prior authorization?
Traditional prior authorization depends on manual steps like phone calls, faxes, and separate portal logins, which fragment your workflow. Electronic prior authorization keeps everything in one system, delivers real-time determinations, and cuts out repetitive data entry.
How much time does electronic prior authorization save a practice?
Electronic prior authorization saves practices a lot of time. With DrChrono’s embedded ePA, the manual steps needed to initiate an authorization drop from 15+ to just 3 key actions. Real-time determinations also shorten the wait for approvals, freeing your staff to focus on other work.
Can missed prior authorizations be recovered after a prescription is sent?
Yes. Integrated ePA tools flag authorizations that were missed during the initial prescription window and support retrospective initiation. This helps you recover them before they cause delayed refills or pharmacy callbacks.
Does electronic prior authorization software work for all medications?
Electronic prior authorization applies to medications that require payer approval. Coverage requirements vary by payer and plan, so the specific medications needing an ePA will depend on each patient’s insurance.
Is electronic prior authorization included in DrChrono’s platform?
Absolutely. DrChrono supports electronic prior authorization through its CoverMyMeds integration, built directly into the e-prescribing workflow. If you’re a DrChrono user, this workflow upgrade is already available to you.
