DrFirst AI Fully Populates 63% of PAs for Prescriptions Across Its Platform With No Clinician Edits

New unified pharmacy and medical prior authorization solution uses patient data from the prescribing workflow to populate answers, most in under a minute.

ARLINGTON, Va., August 27, 2026 -DrFirst today announced a new electronic prior authorization (ePA) solution within its e-prescribing platform, using clinical-grade AI to answer pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) question sets from patient data already captured in the prescribing workflow. In a pilot program for pharmacy PAs, the solution populated answers to 63% of PBM question sets without clinician edits. That rate jumped to over 90% when clinicians answered a qualitative question in cases where relevant patient data was not in the chart. User data showed a median time of just 49 seconds from open to submit.

The new solution also unifies pharmacy and medical prior authorization into a single workflow, giving prescribers and their staff one place to manage PA for medications, complex medical orders and procedures.

Why It Matters
Prior authorization remains one of the most persistent sources of friction in the prescribing workflow, with complex PA requirements and coverage rules creating rework for providers and delaying care for patients. Unlike solutions that require providers or staff to manually upload clinical documents, the DrFirst ePA solution automatically draws on patient context that's already captured in the prescribing record, such as demographics, medication history, diagnosis, and prescription details. When a PA is required, clinical-grade AI reads the PBM question set, pre-fills answers using patient context, and presents a pre-populated form for the prescriber or their staff to review and submit. In the one-month pilot conducted in mid-2026, the DrFirst solution auto-answered more than 2 million questions across 150,000 PAs.

"Prior authorization should not be a barrier to getting patients the care they need, but for too many providers and their staff, it still is," said Laizer Kornwasser, CEO of DrFirst. "Our solution addresses the problem from inside the prescribing workflow, applying AI in a sophisticated way to answer PA questions. That's how we move the industry toward the prior authorization experience patients and providers deserve, and that regulation is now demanding."

Key Capabilities of the DrFirst ePA Solution

• Auto-fills most PAs in less than a minute: Populates answers to PBM questions using patient context already captured in the prescribing workflow (with no manual document uploads required), then presents a pre-filled form for the clinician or staff to review and submit.
• Unified pharmacy and medical ePA: One workflow for all prior authorization types, including complex medical orders, procedures, and medications, with no need to leave the workflow to manage the medical PA.
• Accessible beyond the prescriber: PA and administrative staff can access the ePA workflow directly, so they can work in the same highly efficient experience as prescribers.
• Enhanced clinical context: For organizations using the Gadget prescription orchestration platform from DrFirst, additional clinical context from the patient record can be used to answer an even broader set of PBM questions automatically.

The new ePA solution is available now within the DrFirst e-prescribing platform, with rollout continuing across a partner network of 270 EHR systems across the U.S., and available to independent practices and solo providers via the iPrescribe mobile app. By integrating ePA assisted by clinical-grade AI into existing e-prescribing workflows, EHR vendors can meet evolving regulatory requirements without stretching development teams or deviating from existing roadmaps.

About DrFirst

For 25 years, healthcare IT pioneer DrFirst has empowered providers and patients to achieve better health through intelligent medication management. The company has won over 25 awards for excellence and innovation, including TIME's list of the World's Top HealthTech Companies of 2025, recognizing the company's medication management solutions and integrated workflows that make every step of the patient journey easier, from first prescription to ongoing adherence. DrFirst solutions help over 100 million patients a year and are used by more than 670,000 providers, 71,000 pharmacies, 270 EHRs, and 2,000 hospitals in the U.S. To learn more, visit DrFirst.com .

Media Contact
DrFirst: Erin Jundef, Bospar Communications
[email protected]