Prescription affordability, coverage and prior authorization requirements impact experience

Surescripts, the nation’s leading health intelligence network, released a new report indicating that clinicians feel they have little ability to improve their patients’ care experience, despite nine in 10 of the prescribers and pharmacists surveyed indicating it was very or extremely important.

“These insights emphasize the truly caring nature of the providers in our country who are committed to improving their patients’ experience while in their care,” said Frank Harvey, Chief Executive Officer for Surescripts.

A strong majority of both pharmacists and prescribers also saw technologies designed to deliver cost and coverage insights, accelerate the prior authorization process and stay coordinated across the care team, as helpful to improving the patient experience.

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“These insights emphasize the truly caring nature of the providers in our country who are committed to improving their patients’ experience while in their care,” said Frank Harvey, Chief Executive Officer for Surescripts. “We have an obligation to continue innovating and empowering care teams with technology that transforms their ability to make a positive impact, helping patients access treatments that are affordable, without delay.”

“There’s growing recognition that administrative obstacles are hindering clinicians and negatively impacting the patient experience as a result,” said Tara Dragert, Chief Product Officer for Surescripts. “Fortunately, we’re seeing a renewed urgency from all sides of healthcare including technology leaders, policymakers and clinicians, to upend this dynamic and make a meaningful difference in how care is accessed by patients. It’s especially promising to see that a significant majority of clinicians are ready to leverage innovative technology to help drive improvements in their patients’ care.”

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Report Highlights

Clinicians Value Patient Experience—But Feel Limited in Their Impact:

  • Over 90% of surveyed clinicians (pharmacists and prescribers) say patient experience is very or extremely important in their work, however, around 40% feel they have little ability to impact patient experience.

Cost and Coverage Barriers and process issues Disrupt the Prescription Experience:

  • 93% of prescribers say out-of-pocket costs are a factor in prescribing decisions and most find it difficult to determine patient costs, verify financial assistance eligibility, and find payment options.
  • 87% of prescribers say patients often ask to delay or change prescriptions due to out-of-pocket costs; 85% say the same about insurance coverage issues.

Technology to Transform Patient Care:

  • 9 in 10 clinicians indicated that technology would benefit patient interactions to change or cancel prescriptions electronically, check benefit plan eligibility, automate medication prior authorization processing, identify more affordable drug alternatives and let patients check prescription prices and availability.

Surescripts partnered with APCO Insight™ to conduct a survey between May 28 and June 16, 2025, to understand the opinions and attitudes of pharmacists and prescribers (including physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners) on a variety of topics around the healthcare industry including impressions of the wider industry, job priorities and challenges, challenges with prior authorization, and interest in prior authorization solutions. A total of 503 individuals completed the online survey.

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Source – businesswire