TORONTO — Calling it a first for Canada, Telus Health today announced it’s piloting an electronic drug prior authorization (ePA) solution in partnership with insurance and benefits provider Canada Life and patient support service provider Innomar Strategies.
Prior authorization is applied to certain prescription medications to determine if a benefits plan member is approved to receive coverage for that specific drug, explains a Telus press release. Available in other countries, digital ePA solutions help to decrease time spent fulfilling prior authorization submissions.
“With the new Telus Health ePA solution, physicians and patient support program staff can easily initiate the prior authorization process through a web portal, allowing them to complete all necessary forms, secure electronic signatures and deliver digital outputs directly to insurance providers and payors. This ensures complete information is submitted for processing and helps prevent delays as well as substantial back and forth between stakeholders,” reads the press release.
In the pilot program, the companies will test the digitized process to fulfill prior authorization submissions for real prescription cases and evaluate its impact on process efficiency, consistency of drug adjudication results, and the overall experience of health benefits plan sponsors and members, says the release.
“Telus Health’s new ePA digital solution is aimed at improving what has been a long and cumbersome process for everyone involved, and we anticipate it will be able to help ensure timely coverage decisions,” said Ryan Weiss, vice-president of group customer product and experience for Canada Life. “It’s part of our strategy to increase digital options for members and sponsors, and continually improve the customer experience. These efforts are especially important now, when there’s an increased need for fewer in-person contacts because of the pandemic — convenience and safety go hand in hand.”
“As the demand for specialty medications increases in Canada, it’s critical to improve the process of how patients, physicians, and payers interact with patient support programs,” added Sandra Anderson, senior vice-president of commercialization and strategy at Innomar Strategies, a part of AmerisourceBergen.
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