Entering Prior Approval Requests

Providers and third-party Billing Services can enter Prior Approval (PA) requests with ePACES. If your facility is set up to enter transactions for multiple Providers, be sure the Provider Name and ID displayed above the left-hand menu is correct. In the event of a Group, PAs must be entered for the individual members, as any PA processed for a Group will be rejected.

Navigating the PA Entry Pages

When the PA Request link is initially selected from the left-hand menu, you will be required to enter the PA type. Once you have done this, you will be able to enter multiple PAs without repeating this step unless you need to change the PA type.

The next page displayed prompts you to enter a Client ID.

Enter a valid Client ID and choose Go. This will bring up the PA request pages. These pages have a General Information tab and a Prior Approval Items tab. You may enter information on these tabs in the order they are presented or click on the individual tab to enter information in an order that works for you. However, you may not move from one tab to another without entering all required fields on that tab. At the bottom of each tab are Previous and Next buttons, clicking these will bring you to the prior or following tab respectively. To clear all data entered or changed on the PA since the last time it was saved, you may Cancel these changes. Note that the PA information is saved automatically as you navigate through the pages.

Some data fields will provide you with a listing of possible options from which to choose. These are available through either drop-down list boxes () or a separate pop-up listing () of values and descriptions. In either case, simply enter or select the value and the field will be populated accordingly.

Once all the necessary and/or available information is filled in on all tabs, you may click Submit at the bottom of any tab. If all data entered passes validation, a message confirming the completion of the PA will be displayed and you will be returned to the Client ID prompt. However, if any data entered fails the validation process, a table containing the field in error along with the tab on which the error is located is displayed. If errors exist you may elect to return to the PA and make the necessary changes or continue on to enter another new PA and return to this PA at a later time, in which case you may wish to print out this page for reference.