For prior auth, intake and billing teams
Your prior auth coordinator retypes the chart into a payer portal all day. Fix one back-office workflow first.
The chart is open on one screen and the payer portal on the other: notes, orders and prior-therapy history copied one field at a time, pages attached, then the decision typed back into the EHR. It happens every day to the prior auth coordinator at a specialty group, and the same retyping hits the intake coordinator at a home health agency and the front desk at a dental group. Practices complete 39 prior authorization requests per physician per week, and physicians and staff spend about 13 hours a week on them (AMA, 2025-04-24). At the median medical records pay of $24.59 an hour (BLS, 2026-08-27), 13 hours is about $320 a week per physician before benefits, if staff carried all of it.
Rekey Desk is back-office automation for US healthcare operators. The finished job is one workflow that keys itself: we map it, write down what correct looks like for every field, build the automation that reads the document and keys it, and hand it over only after it matches a sample your staff already keyed. Everything it cannot read goes to a named person on your staff.
Request a sample run See what a sample run returns
Last updated . Rekey Desk is run by Mike Rodgers from Denver and works remotely with operators across the United States.
Re-key queue, one workflowillustration
Keyed and checked rows go into your system. Exceptions go to a named person with the page attached.
Who it is for
Five desks, one method
Each desk runs the same four parts (Rekey Map, Field Rulebook, Keying Build, Exception Queue) and the same rulebook. What changes is the back office it serves, the workflow it reads first, and the test that says it is done.
Dental groups and DSOs
DSO Benefits Desk
Your front desk reads benefits off a payer portal and types frequencies, maximums and waiting periods into the ledger at every location, the day before the patient sits down. Buyers put it plainly: verify insurance and post benefits across every location without adding headcount (search intent, captured 2026-09-24).
Reads first: eligibility and benefits responses into the PMS ledger.
Accepted when every benefit field in the ledger matches the payer response page it came from, on your held-back sample.
Dental groups and DSOsHome health and hospice
Home Health Intake Desk
The referral arrives as a fax, and intake keys demographics, orders and the face-to-face note before the start-of-care visit can be booked. Roughly $40 billion in home health referrals are turned away each year because the administrative cost is higher than the payment (Felicis, 2026-06-02).
Reads first: the referral packet into the EHR intake screens.
Accepted when every keyed referral field cites its packet page and every unsigned or missing item reaches your intake nurse as an exception.
Home health and hospice intakeHealth plans
Plan Intake Desk
Prior authorization requests still come in by fax with clinical attachments, and staff key them into utilization management before a clinician can review. Medicare Advantage plans received more than 50 million requests in 2023 (KFF via AMA, 2025-04-24).
Reads first: faxed requests and attachment lists into utilization management.
Accepted when every request is keyed with member, service and attachment list before review, and nothing clinical is decided by the build.
Prior auth intake for health plansProvider groups
Prior Auth Desk
Your prior auth team copies notes and prior-therapy history out of the chart into payer forms all day. 40% of physicians have staff who work only on prior authorizations (AMA, 2025-04-24).
Reads first: chart pages into payer portal forms, and the decision back.
Accepted when every portal field matches a named chart page and every decision is keyed back with its reference number.
Specialty group back officeHealth-focused private equity
Platform Rollout Desk
Every acquired site keys the same referral or benefits form its own way, so the platform cannot see where the hours go. The question is how to run one playbook at the new office from day one (search intent, captured 2026-09-24).
Reads first: one workflow at one site, then the same Field Rulebook at the next.
Accepted when the same Field Rulebook runs at each new site and its accuracy is reported site by site.
Healthcare PE rolloutsYour cost, in your numbers
Count one workflow for one week: documents received, fields typed per document, minutes per document. Multiply the hours by your loaded hourly cost. For scale, the median pay for a medical records specialist is $24.59 an hour before benefits (BLS, May 2025 data, page dated 2026-08-27). We publish no typical saving. The Rekey Map counts yours.
The cost of typing
What re-keying costs, in published numbers
39 a week
prior authorization requests per physician, about 13 hours of physician and staff time
Source: AMA 2024 physician survey, published 2025-04-24
$21 billion
a year still left in manual and partly manual administrative transactions
Source: 2025 CAQH Index, 2026-02-19
40 to 50%
of home health spend goes to the overhead of coordination
Source: Felicis, 2026-06-02
The Rekey Desk method
The Rekey Desk method: Map, Rulebook, Build, Queue
Every engagement runs the same four parts on one workflow you choose. Each part has an outcome you can hold and a written check.
01
Rekey Map
Every place a person types what a document already says, counted by step, with minutes and hand-offs, so you know which fields cost the most.
Check: every step names the document it is read from and the screen it is typed into.
02
Field Rulebook
The written definition of correct for every field: source page, target field, format, and the person who decides exceptions.
Check: every field has a source, a target, a format rule and a named decider.
03
Keying Build
The automation that reads the document and fills the target screen or import file, field by field, inside systems you already run.
Check: before go-live it keys a held-back sample your staff already keyed, and every mismatch is listed.
04
Exception Queue
Anything unreadable, missing or needing judgment goes to a named person on your staff with the source page attached.
Check: every exception carries a reason code and the source page; nothing is guessed.
What correct looks like
The rulebook is part of the product
- A field is keyed only when its value is read from a named page of the source document. A value that cannot be read is marked not read, never guessed.
- Every keyed value matches the format rule in the Field Rulebook: dates, member IDs, NPIs, codes and amounts.
- Anything clinical (diagnosis, homebound status, medical necessity) is routed to your clinician. No model decides it.
- Before go-live, the Keying Build is run on a held-back sample your staff already keyed, and every mismatch is shown to you.
- Every exception carries a reason code, the source page and the person it went to.
Named owner of mistakes: Mike Rodgers. Every field your staff mark wrong is counted in the Monthly Accuracy Report, the rule behind it is fixed, and the affected records are checked again before the next batch.
Sample run
What a sample run returns
Demonstration, not a client result
A synthetic home health referral packet, built for this page with no real patient, run through the Field Rulebook. Each row shows where the value was read, where it lands, and what happened.
| Field | Read from | Keyed into | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient name and date of birth | Face sheet, page 1 | EHR patient record | Keyed; matches the format rule |
| Medicare Beneficiary Identifier | Face sheet, page 1 | EHR payer tab | Keyed; character pattern checked |
| Ordering physician and NPI | Signed order, page 3 | EHR referral source | Keyed; NPI length and check digit tested |
| Face-to-face encounter date | Visit note, page 6 | EHR certification fields | Exception: note unsigned, sent to intake nurse with page 6 |
| Primary diagnosis | History and physical, page 8 | Not keyed | Routed to clinician: clinical, not decided by code |
| Medicare Advantage plan name | Face sheet, page 1 | EHR payer tab | Exception: plan not on your payer list, sent to intake lead |
Your sample run uses 25 of your own documents, de-identified or synthetic, and you compare our keyed values against what your staff keyed.
Workflows we take on
Pick the one that costs you the most typing
Referral intake keying
Referral packets wait in the fax inbox while your intake coordinator retypes the face sheet, orders and H&P before anyone can call.
Read the pagePrior auth packet building
Your prior auth staff pull notes, orders and prior therapy from the chart, key payer portal forms page by page, then key the decision back.
Read the pageEligibility and benefits keying
Your front desk reads payer responses and retypes frequencies, maximums, waiting periods and deductibles into the PMS ledger at every location.
Read the pageClaim status follow-up keying
Payer responses and portal screens get read, then retyped as notes in the AR work queue while staff reopen three systems to act.
Read the pageWhat you pay today
Every route to less re-keying, side by side
| Route | What it costs | What you still own |
|---|---|---|
| Keep keying by hand | Staff hours at your loaded cost; median medical records pay is $24.59 an hour (BLS, 2026-08-27) | All of it, including every typo |
| Hire a leader to own it | A posted director role for credentialing, enrollment and revenue cycle paid $160,000 to $180,000 plus incentive (job posting, 2026-09-03) | The person, and the same typing until they fix it |
| Switch platforms | One dental platform bundles a staffed revenue cycle team for $299 a month per practice, with its own practice management system (Trust AI, 2026-09-01) | A system migration at every location |
| Buy a general automation audit | $2,000 fixed for one workflow, build not included (Riverborn, read 2026-09-26) | A report, then a separate build decision |
| Rekey Desk Workflow Teardown | $2,500 fixed, credited in full against the build if you sign within 30 days | Your systems, your staff decisions, the rulebook and the map |
The offer and the price
Start with a Workflow Teardown
Workflow Teardown
$2,500 fixed
Readout 10 business days after your de-identified sample set arrives.
- Rekey Map of the workflow you choose, every step, screen and hand-off counted
- Field Rulebook for every field in that workflow, yours to keep and use with any vendor
- Sample run on 25 of your documents, de-identified or synthetic: we key them, you compare
- A fixed price for the Keying Build and the monthly Run and Check
The $2,500 is credited in full against the Keying Build if you sign within 30 days of the readout. If the map shows the workflow is not worth automating, the readout says so, and you keep the map and the rulebook.
After the teardown
Keying Build
Fixed price, quoted after the teardown
The automation for one workflow, tested against your held-back sample before go-live.
Run and Check
Monthly, quoted with the build
Exception Queue, fixes to the rulebook, and the Monthly Accuracy Report: fields keyed, fields your staff corrected, exceptions by reason.
What stays with you
What your people still own
- Your staff decide every exception. The build never decides a value it could not read.
- Your clinicians decide anything clinical: diagnosis, homebound status, medical necessity.
- Your team submits to payers and talks to payers. We do not submit, call or appeal on your behalf.
- You own the Field Rulebook, the exception log and the build configuration.
Patient data
The Workflow Teardown needs no patient data: the sample run uses de-identified or synthetic documents. A Keying Build that touches protected health information starts only after we sign your Business Associate Agreement, and it runs through accounts you control and can revoke.
Not included
- No clinical, coding or medical necessity decisions.
- No payer submissions, calls or appeals on your behalf.
- Not a replacement for your EHR, PMS or claims system.
- No promise of staff reductions and no guaranteed savings figure.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask
- What is Rekey Desk?
- Rekey Desk is back-office automation for US healthcare operators that takes the re-keying out of one document workflow at a time. We map the workflow, write the Field Rulebook, build the automation that reads and keys the documents, and route exceptions to your staff.
- How much does it cost to start?
- The Workflow Teardown is $2,500 fixed, with a readout 10 business days after your de-identified samples arrive. The fee is credited in full against the Keying Build if you sign within 30 days; the build and the monthly Run and Check are quoted as fixed prices after the teardown.
- Which workflow should we start with?
- Start with the workflow where your staff type the most fields from documents that arrive the same way every day. For most operators that is referral intake, prior authorization packets, eligibility and benefits, or claim status follow-up; the Rekey Map shows which one costs you the most.
- Do you need our patient data for the teardown?
- No. The teardown runs on de-identified or synthetic copies of your documents. Any build that touches protected health information starts only after a signed Business Associate Agreement and runs in accounts you control.
- Do we have to switch our EHR or practice management system?
- No. The Keying Build fills the screens or import files of the systems you already run, such as Dentrix, Open Dental, WellSky or your utilization management system. Nothing is migrated.
- What happens when the automation gets a field wrong?
- Your staff mark it, it is counted in the Monthly Accuracy Report, and the rule behind it is fixed before the next batch. Mike Rodgers is the named owner of those mistakes, and the affected records are checked again.
- What stays with our staff?
- Every exception, every clinical decision and every payer submission stays with your people. The build only keys values it can read from a named page, and everything else goes to the person the Field Rulebook names.
- Where do you work?
- Anywhere in the United States, remotely. Rekey Desk is run from Denver, Colorado.
Guides
Answers for back-office leaders
How to count re-keying
Count one workflow's re-keying before buying: documents per week, fields keyed, minutes per document and your loaded hourly cost.
Read the pageAutomate prior auth now or later
Payers get an API mandate, but faxes and portals remain for everyone else; here is what stays manual either way.
Read the pageVendor questions before data moves
Ask any automation vendor these before patient data moves: agreement, accounts you control, accuracy on your documents, exception codes.
Read the pageEvery page on this site
- Rekey Desk home: healthcare back-office automation, one workflow at a time, with prices and the method.
- Referral intake keying: Referral packets wait in the fax inbox while your intake coordinator retypes the face sheet, orders and H&P before anyone can call.
- Prior auth packet building: Your prior auth staff pull notes, orders and prior therapy from the chart, key payer portal forms page by page, then key the decision back.
- Eligibility and benefits keying: Your front desk reads payer responses and retypes frequencies, maximums, waiting periods and deductibles into the PMS ledger at every location.
- Claim status follow-up keying: Payer responses and portal screens get read, then retyped as notes in the AR work queue while staff reopen three systems to act.
- Dental groups and DSOs: DSOs verify insurance and post benefits at every location without adding headcount, and onboard acquisitions without switching the PMS.
- Home health and hospice intake: Referral packets, intake keying and Medicare Advantage authorizations hold up start of care while your coordinator retypes the same pages.
- Prior auth intake for health plans: Faxed prior authorization requests and clinical attachments sit outside the utilization management system until someone keys them in by hand.
- Specialty group back office: Your prior auth staff key requests all week while referrals move in and out and charts still have to reach payers by hand.
- Healthcare PE rollouts: Every acquired site breaks the same workflow its own way; tear down one workflow at one site, then roll one rulebook across the platform.
- How to count re-keying: Count one workflow's re-keying before buying: documents per week, fields keyed, minutes per document and your loaded hourly cost.
- Automate prior auth now or later: Payers get an API mandate, but faxes and portals remain for everyone else; here is what stays manual either way.
- Vendor questions before data moves: Ask any automation vendor these before patient data moves: agreement, accounts you control, accuracy on your documents, exception codes.
Request a sample run
Tell us the workflow that eats the most typing
One short form. We reply by email with what we need for the sample run. No patient data in this form, please.
- Workflow Teardown: $2,500 fixed
- Readout 10 business days after your de-identified samples arrive
- Credited in full against the build if you sign within 30 days