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Prior Authorization Support (PAS)

What is PAS?

Prior Authorization Support (PAS) enables providers to submit prior authorization requests electronically using FHIR, replacing phone, fax, and portal-based workflows.

Official specification: HL7 Da Vinci Prior Authorization Support Implementation Guide

Supported versions

1upHealth supports the following versions of the HL7 Da Vinci Prior Authorization Support Implementation Guide:

  • STU 2.0.1

How FHIR-native PAS works

PAS defines a FHIR-based workflow that bridges providers and payers with 1up as an intermediary:

  1. Construct request bundle: Provider system builds a PAS Request Bundle containing the Claim, Patient, Coverage, ordering Practitioner, and supporting clinical resources.
  2. Submit via $submit: EHR sends a request to the $submit endpoint on 1up's PAS API with the request bundle.
  3. Payer processing: Payer evaluates the request against coverage rules and clinical criteria. This can be a manual or automated process.
  4. Payer Response: Payer's system provides a FHIR ClaimResponse.
  5. EHR receives decision: Provider system receives the authorization decision (approved, denied, or pended).

How X12 PAS works

Coming soon!

Documentation about X12 PAS is coming soon!

Specification: PAS Workflow

Key Operations

$submit

Submits a prior authorization request bundle to 1up as an intermediary for processing.

Endpoint: POST https://gateway.1up.health/v1/1uphealth-core-prod/pas-prod/{customerKey}/{partitionKey}/Claim/$submit

Path parameters

Replace the {customerKey} and {partitionKey} path parameters with the appropriate values for the desired payer. Refer to Provider implementation for more details about these path parameters.

Input: The PAS Request Bundle must contain at least the following resources:

  • Claim: Prior authorization request with procedure/service codes, dates, and quantities
  • Patient: Member demographics and identifiers
  • Coverage: Insurance plan and subscriber information
  • Practitioner / PractitionerRole: Ordering and rendering providers
  • Organization: Requesting and servicing organizations
  • Order resources (ServiceRequest, DeviceRequest, MedicationRequest): What is being requested. Only one of the three order resources is required.

Supporting info resources (QuestionnaireResponse, Condition, Observation), which contain clinical documentation, are optional.

Specification: PAS Request Bundle

Output: A PAS Response Bundle containing:

  • ClaimResponse: Authorization decision with status and review reasons
  • Updated references to submitted resources

Specification: Claim-submit Operation

$inquire

Checks the current status of a previously submitted and pended prior authorization request.

Endpoint: POST https://gateway.1up.health/v1/1uphealth-core-prod/pas-prod/{customerKey}/{partitionKey}/Claim/$inquire

Path parameters

Replace the {customerKey} and {partitionKey} path parameters with the appropriate values for the desired payer. Refer to Provider implementation for more details about these path parameters.

Input: A PAS Inquiry Request Bundle containing:

  • Claim - With the original claim identifier or prior authorization number
  • Patient - The member/beneficiary
  • Coverage - Insurance coverage

Output: A PAS Inquiry Response Bundle containing:

  • ClaimResponse - Current authorization status

Specification: Claim-inquiry Operation

Subscription

The PAS Subscription profile is planned for support and coming soon.

Response Structure

The PAS Response Bundle contains a ClaimResponse resource with the authorization decision.

Key ClaimResponse fields:

  • outcome: The processing result. The options are complete, queued (pended), or error.
  • preAuthRef: Prior authorization number (when approved)
  • item.adjudication: Per-item decisions with review action codes
  • reviewAction: Overall review outcome (approved, denied, pended, partial, cancelled)
  • error: Error details if the request was rejected

Authorization outcomes:

OutcomeMeaning
ApprovedAuthorization granted; preAuthRef contains the PA number
DeniedAuthorization denied; review reasons provided
PendedAdditional review needed; use $inquire to check status later
PartialSome items approved, others denied or pended
CancelledPreviously approved authorization has been cancelled

Specification: PAS Response Bundle

FHIR Resource Profiles

Core Profiles

PAS Claim

  • PAS Claim Profile: Represents the prior authorization request with service codes, dates, and supporting information references

PAS ClaimResponse

Bundle Profiles

PAS Request Bundle

PAS Response Bundle

PAS Inquiry Request Bundle

PAS Inquiry Response Bundle

Supporting Resource Profiles

Patient and Coverage

Providers and Organizations

Order Resources

See all PAS resource profiles

Examples

Complete request/response examples from HL7:

See all PAS examples

PAS Extensions

ExtensionPurposeSpecification
reviewActionConveys the payer's review decision (approved, denied, pended)Spec
reviewActionCodeSpecific review action code from X12 code listSpec
itemPreAuthIssueDateDate the prior authorization was issuedSpec
itemPreAuthPeriodAuthorized date range for the serviceSpec
administrationReferenceNumberPayer-assigned tracking numberSpec
certificationTypeType of certification (initial, renewal, extension)Spec

See all PAS extensions