New features help payer teams interpret clinical intent more consistently across authorization and claims workflows

WALTHAM, Mass.: Wolters Kluwer Health has incorporated new enhancements to its Health Language Data Quality Workbench that help U.S. health insurers meet challenging 2026 federal deadlines while reducing high appeal overturn rates. The enhanced terminology, mapping, and value set management tools provide payers with a single foundation to interpret clinical terminology and procedure codes more consistently during authorization and claims review processes.

Shorter decision timelines increase pressure on prior authorization workflows

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule (CMS-0057-F) requires payers to meet new prior authorization decision timeframes, and to implement specified application programming interface requirements. However, high denial and appeal overturn rates have prompted even more regulatory attention, highlighting the need for accurate code interpretation to ensure consistent, transparent authorization workflows, and to build stakeholder trust.

“Prior authorization automation can cause a simple but costly problem: providers and payers operate using different clinical and administrative languages,” said Anne Donovan, Vice President and General Manager, Health Language, Wolters Kluwer Health. “A physician may document and order care using SNOMED CT concepts, while a payer evaluates that same request using ICD-10-CM or CPT-based policies. Health Language Data Quality Workbench eliminates the noise created by those terminology mismatches, enabling organizations to transform clinical intent into machine-readable intelligence. The result is more efficient prior authorization decisions and reduced unnecessary administrative burden.”

Wolters Kluwer Health’s expert-curated terminology connects clinical intent with payer workflows

Health Language Prior Authorization Crosswalks connect clinical terminologies used in electronic health records (EHRs), including Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), with the procedure and billing codes used in payer workflows such as, CPT, ICD-10-CM, and HCPCS. The curated mappings help payer systems interpret clinical intent and code relationships more consistently, reducing the need for manual reconciliation, preventing inconsistent interpretation, and helping organizations prepare for CMS coverage requirements

Clinically Comparable Procedures Codes identifies defined relationships among procedure codes that represent comparable services, including distinctions such as age specificity, surgical approach, and diagnostic or therapeutic intent. Clinically Supporting Procedures Codes identifies related services associated with an authorized primary procedure. This content gives payer teams a consistent way to maintain procedure relationships across authorization and claims-review workflows.

These additions expand the governed terminology content available through the Health Language Data Quality Workbench, helping payer teams maintain more consistent code interpretation across prior authorization and claims-review workflows as operational and regulatory requirements evolve. These advancements reaffirm the company’s commitment to driving better outcomes for providers, payers, and patients.

Learn more about Wolters Kluwer Health Language Prior Authorization solutions.

About Wolters Kluwer

Wolters Kluwer (EURONEXT: WKL) is a global leader in information solutions, software and services for professionals in healthcare; tax and accounting; financial and corporate compliance; legal and regulatory; corporate performance and ESG. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with technology and services.

Wolters Kluwer reported 2025 annual revenues of €6.1 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 21,100 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands.

Wolters Kluwer shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (WKL) and are included in the AEX, Euro Stoxx 50, and Euronext 100 indices. Wolters Kluwer has a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program. The ADRs are traded on the over-the-counter market in the U.S. (WTKWY).

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Fonte: Business Wire