PRIMARY CARE
Austin Orthopedic Group Added 3 Virtual Medical Staff to Clear a Prior Authorization Bottleneck
"Prior authorizations were the bottleneck for everything. Surgeries got delayed because we couldn't get imaging approved fast enough, and patients felt that wait. Once MedVirtual took over that process, our surgery schedule stopped backing up and our front desk finally caught up on calls."
Dr. Mark T., Medical Director
Project Overview
A multi-provider orthopedic group in Austin, TX, with 3 orthopedic surgeons and a physical therapy wing, was losing time on the front end of nearly every case. Imaging referrals and prior authorizations for MRIs, physical therapy, and surgical procedures were backing up in the front office faster than the billing team could clear them.
The bottleneck had a direct downstream effect: patients were waiting days for confirmed surgery dates because imaging and procedure approvals had not cleared yet. At the same time, front desk staff were absorbing a high volume of post-op follow-up calls, which pulled attention away from new patient intake and compounded the scheduling backlog.
The bottleneck had a direct downstream effect: patients were waiting days for confirmed surgery dates because imaging and procedure approvals had not cleared yet. At the same time, front desk staff were absorbing a high volume of post-op follow-up calls, which pulled attention away from new patient intake and compounded the scheduling backlog.
The Solution
MedVirtual placed 3 dedicated virtual medical staff matched to the practice's specific bottlenecks: a Medical Biller focused specifically on prior authorization for imaging and procedures, a Medical Admin handling scheduling and post-op call coordination, and a Patient Care Coordinator managing physical therapy referral routing.
The Results
3
Virtual Medical Staff Hired
9,500+
Patients Managed Annually
92%
Prior Authorization
Turnaround Improvement
Turnaround Improvement
The practice extended consistent care to more patients without adding to its in-house clinical headcount.
With the between-visit work handled, providers spent more of their day with patients and the in-house nurses stopped carrying a backlog.
With the between-visit work handled, providers spent more of their day with patients and the in-house nurses stopped carrying a backlog.
Before and After
Metric
Prior auth turnaround (imaging/procedures)
Post-op call backlog
PT referral routing time
Front-desk overtime hours/week
In-House
7 to 10 days
2 to 3 day delay
4 to 5 days
15+ hours
After MedVirtual
Under 24 hours in most cases
Same-day callback
Under 48 hours
Near zero
MedVirtual's Staff Approach
The virtual team took on the clinical and administrative work that an in-house care team handles, all under the direction of the practice's providers.
Prior Authorization Ownership
The dedicated Medical Biller owns the prior authorization process end to end for imaging and surgical procedures, tracking each request against payer-specific timelines instead of letting requests sit in a shared queue.
Post-Op Call Coordination
The Medical Admin absorbs the post-op follow-up call volume that previously competed directly with new patient intake for front desk attention, so both functions get consistent coverage instead of one crowding out the other.
Physical Therapy Referral Routing
The Patient Care Coordinator manages the handoff between surgical and PT scheduling, keeping referrals moving instead of stalling between departments.
Surgical Schedule Protection
By clearing the prior authorization bottleneck specifically, confirmed surgery dates stopped slipping, protecting the practice's surgical schedule from a delay that was compounding upstream of the OR itself.
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The Next Step
The practice is expanding its virtual team into remote patient monitoring for post-surgical recovery check-ins, along with dedicated support for workers' compensation case coordination.
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