Prior Authorization. Those two words can cause fear in the hearts of patients and dread in the hearts of their doctors. That’s when a doctor prescribes a medicine or a surgery or a treatment, but has to get approval from your insurance company before it can happen. It can be a lengthy, difficult process, heavy on the paperwork, and while you may have heard the words ‘Prior Auth’ once or twice, your doctor hears them all the time as they struggle to get you the treatment you need.
But Dr. Patrice Burgess counsels doctors, especially young doctors, to rise to the challenge and to make a difference, not just in their patients lives, but in the policies that they think need to be changed.
Along with coaching young doctors, Dr. Burgess wears a lot of hats. She’s a family medicine physician with Saint Alphonsus Medical Group and has been Medical Director, Chief Medical Officer and the first female president of the Idaho Medical Association and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked to bring Idaho hospitals into the incident command system and worked extra night shifts saving lives.
Oh, and don’t tell her that COVID is over; she says the virus is here to stay and says the vaccine is more important than ever.
The Ada County Medical Society recognized Dr. Burgess with their 2026 Physician Of The Year - Lifetime Achievement Award and when the ACMS asked if we’d like to talk to her about her work, we couldn’t resist inviting her on Idaho Matters.
