Answer prior auth questions without tying up your schedulers.
Prior authorization questions are among the most time-consuming calls imaging centers receive. Chatref answers timeline and process questions from your protocols and routes specific case follow-ups to the right person — without a scheduler interrupting their day.
Featured on
Why it matters
The problem this solves.
The challenge
Patients and offices call about prior auth status — questions schedulers must look up case by case, pulling them off booking.
What it costs
A single prior auth call takes 10–20 minutes. Ten calls a day costs hours your schedulers should spend on booking.
The Chatref way
Chatref answers prior auth timeline questions and routes case inquiries to your billing contact — no hold time required.
The Chatref solution
How Chatref handles prior auth questions.
A patient calls — or visits your site — asking how long prior auth takes for their MRI. Chatref shares your standard timeline from your protocols, explains the process, and routes their specific case question to your billing team. No scheduler pulled off the queue.
Real questions
What Chatref answers here.
How long does prior authorization for an MRI take?
My doctor ordered a CT scan — do I need prior authorization?
What happens if my prior auth is denied?
How do I know if my imaging is covered by my insurance?
Who handles prior authorization at your imaging center?
How long has my prior auth been pending?
Loved by support teams
Imaging centers, handling prior auth questions without pulling schedulers off the queue.
How outpatient imaging teams use Chatref to answer prior auth process questions and route case-specific inquiries correctly.
Prior auth questions were consuming 20–30 minutes of scheduler time per call. Chatref answers the process questions automatically and routes status inquiries to our billing team. Schedulers are finally scheduling again.
Patients used to call multiple times asking about their auth status. Now they get timeline context upfront and know exactly where to follow up.
Ordering offices get instant answers on our prior auth process without waiting on hold. Case-specific questions go straight to the right team.
of prior auth questions answered automatically without scheduler involvement
The widget answers prior auth questions in Spanish and routes follow-ups correctly — no bilingual billing staff required on every shift.
Will the widget give patients specific information about their auth status?
No. It shares general timeline and process information from your protocols and routes specific case inquiries to your billing or scheduling contact.
Can it answer questions about what insurance plans typically require prior auth?
Yes, if your protocols cover that. It shares the general guidance you provide and routes anything plan-specific to the right team.
What if a patient's auth has been denied?
The widget explains your process for appeals or alternatives from your protocols and routes the patient to your billing team for their specific case.
Can ordering offices use the same widget for prior auth questions?
Yes. The same widget answers both patient and ordering office questions — and routes each to the correct contact.
How does this reduce scheduler workload?
Schedulers stop fielding prior auth process questions they cannot fully answer. Those go to Chatref. Only case-specific escalations reach the team.
Take prior auth questions off your schedulers' plates.
Upload your prior auth process protocols, configure routing to your billing team, drop in one snippet — free to start.
Part of Chatref for Radiology & Imaging Centers · Healthcare hub · pricing.