Yes. Every commercial insurance payer and most government advantage programs require pre-authorization prior to proceeding with the injection. We try our very best to get this pre-authorization approval in a timely manner but there are factors that are beyond control.

Most insurance companies have their own internal teams that review these requests on a case-by-case basis.

There is a prerequisite checklist that some insurance companies follow, and these can include but are not limited to duration of symptoms, modalities trialed, medications trialed, imaging results (MRIs or X rays).

We must document this information in an accurate and thorough manner in your office visit note, hence, the first visit with Dr. Bhatia is a consultation visit to start the insurance authorization and approval process.