Review by a quality improvement organization (QIO) for specific surgical procedures and scheduled inpatient services that must be approved before being provided. Also called preprocedure review.

Treatment, tests, and procedures done 48 to 72 hours before admission of a patient into the hospital. This is done to eliminate extra hospital days.

Requirement in some health insurance plans for a physician or provider to obtain permission for a service or procedure before it is done and to see whether the insurance program agrees it is medically necessary. Factors determining authorization are eligibility, benefits of a specific plan, and setting of care. Also called approval, authorization, or preapproval. See also precertification and predetermination.

Bank service that permits a debtor to request funds to be transferred from the customer’s bank deposit account to the account of a creditor. Also called automatic bill payment, bank check plan, check-o-matic, check deposit billing, electronic funds transfer system (EFTS), or preauthorized checking.

To find out whether treatment (surgery, tests, hospitalization) is covered under a patient’s health insurance policy. Also referred to as preadmission certification (PAC).