"Suck" is a word I seldom use. It's a word I ask my children not to use.  However, in this case the word is appropriate. If as a patient, you have ever had a delay in getting a medication or a test your doctor ordered, it was probably due to a prior authorization.  A prior authorization is a bureaucratic hurdle (sometimes a phone call, sometimes a fax, sometimes a letter) that is required by your physician to get you the test or treatment he or she believes is right for you. A prior authorization is essentially a mechanism that insurance companies put in place to make ordering more expensive tests or medications more difficult for you to get. The decision maker on the insurance company's end who decides whether your doctor (regardless of specialty or years in practice) is justified in requesting the medication or test that your insurance company is obligated to provide for you is often a 20-something college grad with no clinical experience.  Prior authorizations are probably one of the most frustrating things about being a primary care physician. 


I am far from alone in this opinion.  My medical society, The Medical Society of the District of Columbia or MSDC actually did a survey of their members examining the impact of health insurance prior authorization protocols on patient care in Washington, D.C. The study reveals widespread concern among area physicians, with over 93% of respondents saying that insurance company requirements are having a negative impact on their ability to treat patients.