UCLA Health: Help Teamsters Workers Help Our Patients!
Jeff Butler, COO of Community Care Clinics at UCLA Health
Patient care is suffering at UCLA Health!
At departments across UCLA Health, from Oncology to Pediatrics, Patient Services Representatives (PSRs) represented by Teamsters Local 2010 are being pressured to file prior authorization requests that we lack the clinical training and experience to complete. These authorizations are submitted to insurance companies for critical treatments--like medical injections, infusions, and even chemotherapy drugs--and should be completed by workers who have the clinical background necessary to justify treatment decisions to insurance companies.
Instead, these authorizations are given to us PSRs. Lacking the appropriate training, we struggle to interpret medical records, have to chase down clinical staff for answers, and even Google definitions of terminology we don't understand. This leads to delays in care and patients are the ones who suffer!
Management must provide the necessary training and compensation to PSRs so we can effectively and efficiently process prior authorizations without compromising patient care. The number of PSRs processing medication and similar authorizations has grown every year since the pandemic and has reached unsustainable levels.
UCLA, help us help our patients! We need support now!
Petition by
To:
Jeff Butler, COO of Community Care Clinics at UCLA Health
From:
[Your Name]
To Jeff Butler, COO of Community Care Clinics
Members of Teamsters Local 2010 are asking you to listen to the needs of workers and end the practice of tasking Patient Services Representatives with filing prior authorizations for medications, infusions, injections, and other clinical procedures.
At departments across UCLA Health, from Oncology to Pediatrics, PSRs represented by Teamsters Local 2010 are being pressured to file prior authorization requests that we lack the clinical training and experience to complete. These authorizations are submitted to insurance companies for critical treatments--like medical injections, infusions, and even chemotherapy drugs--and should be completed by workers who have the clinical background necessary to justify treatment decisions to insurance companies.
Instead, these authorizations are given to PSRs. Lacking training, we struggle to interpret medical records, have to chase down clinical staff for answers, and even Google definitions of terminology we don't understand. This leads to delays in care and patients are the ones who suffer!
Management must provide the necessary training and compensation to PSRs so we can effectively and efficiently process prior authorizations without compromising patient care. The number of PSRs processing medication and similar authorizations has grown every year since the pandemic and has reached unsustainable levels.
Help us help our patients! We need support now!