Columbus Arthritis Center has been serving central Ohio since 1955. Today it is one of the largest freestanding rheumatology practices in the state, with two locations in Columbus and a clinical team treating patients across a broad range of rheumatic and autoimmune conditions — from rheumatoid arthritis and lupus to psoriatic arthritis, scleroderma, and beyond.
Behind that clinical operation is a lean administrative team responsible for managing the benefit investigations and prior authorizations that keep patients moving from diagnosis to treatment. With a patient population that generates nearly 16,000 benefit investigations in a single year, that team’s capacity to work efficiently has a direct effect on how quickly patients get onto therapy.
The Challenge
Columbus Arthritis Center has been a CareTria Provider Connect (formerly eBlu Solutions) client since 2018 — drawn to the platform for the same reason as many specialty practices. The volume of benefit investigations the team was responsible for had outpaced what a small staff could reasonably manage on their own.
“It was becoming too overwhelming for our staff to do it all,” says Abby Lenhart, Prior Authorization Supervisor at Columbus Arthritis Center, who has been with the practice for roughly 20 years. “CareTria said they could help us out, and we thought, let’s give them a try.”
For a practice generating thousands of benefit investigations each year, the case for bringing in outside help was clear — and at no cost to the practice, the decision was easy. What wasn’t as obvious at the time was how central the platform would become to the team’s workflow, and how much further that relationship would eventually grow.
“It was becoming too overwhelming for our staff to do it all. CareTria said they could help us out, and we thought, let’s give them a try.”
The Solution
Columbus Arthritis Center began using CareTria Provider Connect for benefit investigations and built from there. Over time, as the platform evolved — pre-filled forms and other workflow improvements made the system considerably more capable — the CareTria team raised the question of adding prior authorizations to the mix.
It was a natural next step, but not an immediate one. Heather Dailey, Biologic Coordinator at Columbus Arthritis Center, had reservations. “I was hesitant to try the authorizations because I’m a control freak and I like to do everything,” she says. “But it was actually really easy and really helpful.”
The transition worked in part because handing off prior authorizations to CareTria Provider Connect didn’t mean giving up visibility. The platform handles follow-up on submitted authorizations — including the repeat calls to payers that can otherwise consume hours of staff time — while the Columbus Arthritis Center team retains oversight throughout the process.
“Sometimes you’re calling these places three to four times saying, hey, are you done yet? We need to get this patient authorized,” Dailey says. “That follow-up piece has been wonderful.”
The team’s approach is flexible by design. For certain payers, Dailey submits authorizations herself using the benefit investigation as a guide. For others, CareTria Provider Connect handles the submission end-to-end. That flexibility has made adoption easier and kept the team in control of the cases where they want to be.
When claims issues arise, the support extends there as well. CareTria Provider Connect has stepped in to help with denials and claims follow-up — assistance that Dailey describes as a genuinely useful feature, separate from the core benefit investigation and prior authorization workflows.
“We work with our account team and they are so on top of it. If we ever had an issue or a question, or contradictory information from the insurance versus what was in the platform, they were right on it.”
The Results
Columbus Arthritis Center processed nearly 16,000 benefit investigations through CareTria Provider Connect last year. Lenhart and Dailey are direct about what that number represents.
“I don’t think we could do what we do with our small team without a company like CareTria to help us,” Dailey says. “A lot of the results come back instantly. You’re getting all the information you need as soon as you run that benefit.”
The addition of prior authorizations has extended that efficiency across more of the workflow. With CareTria Provider Connect handling follow-up on submitted prior authorizations, the team spends less time chasing payers and more time on work that requires their direct attention.
When Columbus Arthritis Center opened a second location in March 2025, onboarding it onto CareTria Provider Connect was one less thing to worry about. Adding the new site came down to having the location entered in the system and authorization records updated.
“As far as CareTria goes, everything is smooth. They’ve been able to help us, answer questions, make updates — all that we need to do.”
Conclusion
Columbus Arthritis Center has been with CareTria Provider Connect for the better part of a decade, and the relationship has grown alongside the practice. What started as a solution to an unmanageable benefit investigation volume now covers prior authorizations, claims support, and the ongoing needs of a two-location operation — managed by a team that is doing more than its headcount would suggest.
For practices weighing whether a platform like CareTria Provider Connect is worth adopting, Dailey’s perspective is grounded in years of experience. “I would highly recommend them to any other practice,” she says. “We literally just have such a volume we could not do what we do. And there are payers that are just easier to let CareTria handle — and they offer that follow-up, which makes a huge difference.”
Lenhart puts it simply. “It’s like having a whole new employee,” she says. “Another company inside of our company. CareTria feels like part of our business.”
See What CareTria Provider Connect Can Do for Your Practice
Columbus Arthritis Center came in with an overwhelming volume of benefit investigations and a lean team with no room for a process that couldn’t keep up. Nearly a decade later, they’ve expanded to a second location, added prior authorization services, and processed thousands of benefit investigations in a single year — all at no cost to the practice. If your team is managing more than your current process can handle, it’s time to see what’s possible. Schedule a demo with the CareTria team today.
