FastAuth: Automating Prior Authorization | Angry Nerds

Introduction

Challenge

The healthcare system in the USA is complex, and some procedures are frustrating not only for patients but also for hospitals, physicians, and insurance companies. One of the most significant pain points is the prior authorization process (PA). It requires physicians and other healthcare providers to obtain approval from an insurance company that the treatment the patient needs is covered in their health insurance plan. The process, together with the administrative work, takes time and causes delays in the delivery of healthcare services.

Our client, the innovative healthcare IT company FastAuth, addressed this issue and created a solution that automated the PA process, helping physicians focus more on their patients and less on the administrative side of their work. It has a great impact on the whole healthcare system, making it more accessible and efficient.

Overview

Scope

Desktop/ Web App Development

Front-end, Back-end

Technology

Tech Stack

ASP.NET Core MVC, MS SQL, Azure, React, Electron

Team

8 members

Our team consisted of eight members: a Project Manager, Front-end Developers, and Back-end Developers.

Duration

4+ years

Cooperation timeline: 2021 - ongoing

Goals

We partnered with FastAuth to turn their vision into reality and create a comprehensive platform automating the prior authorization process.

The main goal was to build a seamless solution to automate manual steps in the PA process, manage the authorizations across major payers and utilization managers, promptly discover specific payer requirements, and enable providers to optimize operations and patient scheduling through real-time analytics.

Solutions

Based on the client’s requirements, we designed the architecture of the whole solution and started with the development of a demo, so we could quickly launch the pilot version of the product with early adopters. Our collaboration is ongoing, so right now we’re focused on the development of a more scalable solution as we onboard an increasing number of customers.

Making of

The project progressed through strategically planned phases to ensure comprehensive system development and alignment with business objectives:

Discovery Workshops

Development

Testing

Improvements

Discovery & Analysis

In-depth discovery sessions established a clear understanding of required business processes, workflows, and system integration points. These sessions helped map current needs while anticipating future scalability requirements.

Development

In response to the client's needs, we structured the complete system design and initiated prototype development to enable a swift rollout of the preliminary product iteration among initial user groups.

Testing & Validation

This phase ensured reliable performance and data accuracy throughout the system. The structured approach supported efficient development while maintaining flexibility to adapt to emerging requirements and market insights.

Review & Refinement

Regular client demonstrations provided visibility into development progress and system functionality. This iterative approach enabled continuous refinement based on stakeholder feedback, ensuring the solution met evolving business needs.

These features would support the platform's goal of streamlining operations while improving patient care delivery.

FastAuth Solutions Implementation

Core Automation Features: Automated form completion and submission; Smart document processing and data extraction

Patient Experience: Patient portal for authorization status visibility; Automated appointment rescheduling based on approvals

Analytics and Optimization: Real-time dashboard with authorization metrics; Bottleneck identification and process improvement insights

Technology Stack

Technological Framework

FastAuth is a web application created with ASP.NET Core MVC – one of the most efficient and reliable technologies available. The main part of the app’s back-end is a powerful API that is also fully compatible with the medical data requirements (HIPAA Compliance). The data is stored in a relational database on the MS SQL server. We use cloud infrastructure provided by Azure (web application server, database server) to ensure top-class security and stability.

Automation of repetitive actions is the main functionality of the application. In order to provide it, we used the Puppeteer library, which controls the browser, executes given actions, and collects information from the websites. The application can be run on multiple platforms (Mac, Windows, Linux) thanks to the Electron framework.

Although the project is ongoing, we’re very satisfied with the progress we've made so far. We’ve developed a complete version of the platform, which consists of all initially planned features. Most of them have already been reworked to facilitate new processes. Additionally, the application has been successfully scaling both horizontally and vertically. We implemented new functionalities as well: A user management module, a separate module for reporting, SSO, a fee schedule feature etc.

The feedback we received allowed us to work on further development of the scalable product, and this is our main focus.