Case studyHospital-based outpatient infusion

Reducing Time-to-Chair for Infusion Patients

How Latent's enterprise pharmacy intelligence platform enables Ochsner to care for more infusion patients, faster

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FIG. 01Infusion med access · Ochsner

9.3 min Prior auth time with Latent vs. 26.5 min before

+ 35 % More cases per FTE per day 17 → 23

40 K⁺ Total infusion authorizations completed in Latent to date

Overview

A year and a half, co-built with Ochsner

A year and a half ago, Latent and Ochsner set out to co-build a product that would redefine medication access for the world of infusions. Infusion workflows are among the most time-intensive, fragmented workflows in health systems today: every case could mean a different payer portal, benefit rule, documentation requirement, and team handoff. Ochsner had already proven the model with Latent on the pharmacy benefit side, where Specialty and Retail teams saw the first efficiency gains. Extending the same platform to the medical benefit was the deliberate next move.

Pharmacy benefit Specialty + Retail · proven first Medical benefit Infusion · the deliberate next move

For a health system like Ochsner, a central aggregator for medical benefit workflows isn't just a productivity tool. It fundamentally changes how the team operates. It reduces the operational risk of fragmented knowledge, gives leadership visibility across the team, and creates the conditions for continuous improvement. When every submission follows a standardized, supported workflow, the whole organization benefits: outcomes become more predictable, and the team can focus on the clinical work that requires their expertise.

This journey not only spans prior authorization but works toward a future where every step between a physician's order and a patient's infusion is as frictionless as possible. For the teams at Ochsner advocating for patients every day, Latent is building the infrastructure to transform a complex, fragmented process into a smoother and speedier path to treatment.

The problem

Playing Defense for Every Patient

Infusion authorizations have no single source of truth. No map.

Fax transmittalMedical necessity policyCoverage criteria, rev. 2026p. 14Aetna PortalUHC Fax, step 2/3Humana PhoneOn hold · 34 minTipsheet · Entyvio

Portal › Inner portal › Sign inTo Aetna, PA deptRe Prior authorizationPages 1 of 4Every case scattered across portals, fax forms, tipsheets, and payer phone lines.

Aetna PortalHumana PhoneUHC Fax, step 2/3Tipsheet · EntyvioMedical necessity policyFax transmittalCoverage criteria, rev. 2026On hold · 34 min

Just an ever-growing stack of tipsheets, institutional know-how accumulated over years, and a team doing everything in their power to get patients the treatments they need as quickly as possible. Take chemotherapy: a member of Ochsner's infusion med access team must locate the treatment plan, investigate the patient's insurance coverage, pull the relevant payer policy from an external source, verify medical necessity criteria, determine the correct submission method (fax form, portal or even a portal buried inside another portal) just to submit. After all of that comes the follow-up: stretches on hold with payer phone lines, waiting for the approval that allows the infusion to be scheduled. This is the battle infusion teams fight every day, on behalf of patients who can't wait, against a constantly moving target, with no map to guide them.

The pivot

Before

Data and systems live in silos.

Every case scattered across portals, fax forms, tipsheets, and payer phone lines.

With Latent

Latent brings it all together.

One centralized dashboard. Full visibility across the team, in real time.

Fax transmittal To Aetna, PA deptRe Prior authorization Pages 1 of 4

Medical necessity policy Coverage criteria, rev. 2026 p. 14

Portal › Inner portal › Sign in Continue

Humana Phone On hold · 34 min

Tipsheet · Entyvio

Aetna PortalUHC Fax, step 2/3Humana Phone

Infusion med access · OchsnerLive

FAX RECEIVEDJ. R. Entyvio Aetna · ePAApproved

POLICY MATCHEDp. 14Approved

PORTAL SUBMITTEDM. T. Ocrevus UHC · PortalWaiting on payer

HOLD ENDEDD. K. Prolia Humana · FaxSubmitted

TIPSHEET RETIREDTipsheet · EntyvioApproved

Latent AssistantMedical necessity criteria met. Supporting evidence surfaced from the chart.

See it run

Watch the map clear a case.

The same steps, now run by Latent.

Time to approve0:00

Locate the treatment planReviewed to bring the best answers forward.

Investigate the patient's insurance coveragePulled into one centralized view.

Pull the relevant payer policyPayer requirements built into the workflow.

Determine the submission methodLatent directs the right method. No portal maze.

Verify medical necessity criteriaClinical criteria built into the workflow itself.

SubmitAutofilled in one click.

Follow up on the approvalMore auto-approvals, far less time on hold.

Without Latent26.5 min

With Latent9.3 min

17 minutes savedper case ·65% less time One chemotherapy case, cleared by Latent.

The assistant

Latent's Medical Benefit Assistant

Ochsner's Infusion team now works from a single, centralized dashboard, with full visibility across the entire team, in real time. No more tracking cases in paper notes or spreadsheets while bouncing between fax forms and portals. No more relying on tipsheets, memory and experience to remember which payer requires which submission method for which drug.

Latent brings the map to the team. AI takes care of directing them to the correct submission method/payer requirements, and clinical criteria is built into the workflow itself, rather than living in the minds of individual staff members. Autofill handles demographic and drug information. And when the case reaches the complex clinical questions, the Latent Assistant surfaces the right clinical evidence from the patient chart.

For Ochsner's infusion patients, that means faster authorizations, faster starts to treatment, and more patients receiving their care within the Ochsner system. Now, Ochsner patients stay connected to the physician and care team who know them best, from the first infusion through the last.

One dashboard

The whole team works from a single, centralized view, in real time. No more paper notes, spreadsheets, or bouncing between portals.

FIG. 02Infusion med access · Ochsner

DrugPayer · methodStatus

EntyvioAetna · ePAApproved

OcrevusUHC · PortalWaiting on payer

ProliaHumana · FaxSubmitted

EntyvioUHC · PortalApproved

ProliaAetna · ePASubmitted

OcrevusHumana · FaxApproved

The map, built in

AI directs the team to the correct submission method and payer requirements, with clinical criteria built into the workflow itself.

FIG. 03Payer · method

Evidence on hand

Autofill handles demographic and drug information. For complex clinical questions, the Assistant surfaces the right evidence from the chart.

FIG. 04Clinical evidence

DrugEntyvio 300mg IV

PayerAetna · Medical

Criteria

Medical necessity criteria met. Surfaced from chart. CRITERIA MET

The results

Each case cleared faster is a patient whose care comes sooner.

9.3 min With LatentPrior auth review time

26.5 min Without LatentPrior auth review time

17 / day Without LatentDaily case capacity per FTE

23 / day With LatentDaily case capacity per FTE

FIG. 05Time-to-chair · per team member, each day

1 SQUARE = 1 CASE PER FTE PER DAY17 → 23+6 reach the chair

−65%

Review time per case dropped from 26.5 minutes to just 9.3 minutes, a reduction of 65%.

Time savings raised daily capacity by 35%, from 17 to 23 prior authorizations submitted by each team member each day.

The biggest success of all is that each additional case completed per day is a patient whose path to care was cleared a little faster.

At scale

Proven at the scale a health system runs on.

40,000⁺

Total infusion authorizations completed in Latent, to date

Every one of them, a step toward treatment.

FIG. 0640,000

We value the Latent AI program for its ability to streamline the collection of clinical information directly from the chart, supporting more efficient workflows.

Ochsner Infusion Team Member Hospital-Based Outpatient Infusion Med Access Team, Ochsner Health

Voices from the team

What it changed for the people doing the work.

Latent has helped us work more efficiently by cutting down the time we spend reviewing patient charts and increasing auto-approvals, which means our patients can start treatment sooner—especially in chemotherapy, where timing really matters.

Ochsner Infusion Team Member
Hospital-Based Outpatient Infusion Med Access Team, Ochsner Health

“I like the way it fills in the patient information with one click.”

Janet Perriatt, Pre-Service Authorization Manager,
HOPD Infusions & Clinical Medications, Ochsner Health

Why it matters

For patients receiving complex infusions like chemotherapy at a hospital-based outpatient center, being treated within the Ochsner system means being followed by their physician and care team throughout every step of their journey. For the most complex infusion drugs, that continuity of care is always the most desirable patient outcome. And it starts with getting the prior authorization right.

Frequently asked

Common questions about the Ochsner infusion case study

What did Ochsner achieve for infusion patients with Latent?

Ochsner's infusion prior authorization review time dropped from 26.5 minutes per case, cases completed per team member each day rose from 17 to 23, and more than 40,000 infusion authorizations have been completed in Latent to date.

Why are infusion prior authorizations so hard?

Infusion authorizations have no single source of truth and no map. Every case can mean a different payer portal, benefit rule, documentation requirement, and team handoff, spread across fax forms, portals, tipsheets, and payer phone lines. A team member must locate the treatment plan, check the patient's coverage, pull the payer policy, verify medical necessity, and find the correct submission method just to submit.

What is Latent's Medical Benefit Assistant?

Ochsner's infusion team works from a single centralized dashboard with full visibility across the team in real time. Latent directs the team to the correct submission method and payer requirements, builds clinical criteria into the workflow, autofills demographic and drug information, and surfaces the right clinical evidence from the patient chart for the complex questions.

How does this build on Ochsner's earlier pharmacy work with Latent?

Ochsner first proved the model with Latent on the pharmacy benefit side, where Specialty and Retail teams saw the first efficiency gains. Extending the same platform to the medical benefit, where infusions live, was the deliberate next move.

What does faster authorization mean for patients?

Faster authorizations mean faster starts to treatment and more patients receiving care within the Ochsner system, where they stay connected to the physician and care team who know them best. In chemotherapy, where timing matters most, that continuity starts with getting the prior authorization right.