“These care delays aren't just inconveniences, they aren’t annoyances,” Heather McComas, PharmD, director of the AMA’s administrative simplification initiatives, said during the webinar.
“Our physicians are saying that prior-authorization care delays actually hurt patients: 80% of physicians reported that prior authorization can lead to patients completely abandoning a prescribed or ordered course of care,” McComas said. “Most alarming, one-third of physicians reported that prior authorization has led to a serious adverse event for a patient in their care. And a serious adverse event is something like hospitalization, permanent impairment or even death.”