United HealthCare Services Inc., the largest commercial healthcare payer, is rolling out a new digital program and mobile app for doctors to write and renew prescriptions faster.

The new tool, United HealthCare calls PreCheck MyScript and accessed through Link, the carrier’s physician health portal, and enables doctors to run a pharmacy trial claim before prescribing a medication for patients with UnitedHealthCare plans. Doctors can see how much a patient would have to pay for a medication if she went to her preferred pharmacy at that very moment to pick it up, the carrier says

PreCheck MyScript will also give lower-cost alternatives when available for higher cost medications in order to save patients money, the carrier says. For example, when doctors look up a particular medication, they can see immediately whether the patient’s plan covers the medication and whether it requires a prior authorization. If it does, doctors can request approval right from the PreCheck MyScript app in just a few clicks, the carrier says.

UnitedHealthcare worked with another company business unit, pharmacy benefits manager OptumRx, to develop PreCheck MyScript.

Being able to see which medications require prior authorizations can save doctors’ offices a great deal of time and effort—offices that haven’t transitioned to electronic medical records still rely on fax machines and phone calls to get approval for certain medications,” United HealthCare says.  That process With PreCheck MyScript, doctors or administrative staff can request prior authorization electronically and usually receive an answer within 24 to 72 hours, the carrier says.

PreCheck MyScript was made available to all of network United HealthCare providers at the end of August,” the company says.

“For members, PreCheck MyScript will provide an enhanced patient experience by giving precise pricing information at the time of prescribing, and taking the guesswork out of determining whether a prescription is covered by a member’s benefit plan and if prior authorization is needed,” says a United HealthCare spokeswoman. For providers, it reduces the amount of time spent on administrative tasks, shows prior authorization information and provides alternative medications that may be of lower cost or not require prior authorization before they are sent to the pharmacy.”

UnitedHealthcare has 3,632 hospitals and 648,726 providers in its healthcare delivery network and serves 6.2 million members.

The carrier did say how much PreCheck MyScript cost to build. “With PreCheck MyScript, physician practices will spend more time with their patients and less time on administrative tasks,” says UnitedHealthcare chief medical officer Dr. Sam Ho. “It takes the guesswork out of determining whether a prescription is covered by the patient’s benefit plan and if prior authorization is needed. PreCheck MyScript also improves the patient experience due to the more precise cost information that is shared before the patient leaves the doctor’s office.”