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Background: What Is an Escalation?

An escalation is a structured request or notification sent to the provider through the Silna platform. Each escalation has:
  • escalation_type: A hierarchical identifier that classifies what the escalation is about.
  • action_type: Either SUBMISSION (the provider must respond) or NOTIFICATION (informational only).
  • reason: A human-readable explanation of what happened and what is needed.
  • status: The current lifecycle state of the escalation.
The public API (GET /public/v1/escalations) returns escalations for Benefits Checks and Prior Authorizations only.

Action Types

The action_type field tells you whether the provider needs to take action or is simply being informed.

How action_type Relates to Blocking

Any escalation with action_type = SUBMISSION is blocking - Silna cannot continue processing the request until the provider responds. Any escalation with action_type = NOTIFICATION is non-blocking. The action_type depends on both the escalation type and the resource type. For example, DECISION_RENDERED__DENIAL is SUBMISSION on Prior Authorizations (the provider must choose to appeal, accept, etc.) but does not apply to Benefits Checks at all. At a high level:
  • All ADDITIONAL_REQUIREMENTS__* types are SUBMISSION.
  • DECISION_RENDERED__DENIAL, PARTIALLY_APPROVED, and CANCELLED are SUBMISSION (the provider must choose a next action).
  • DECISION_RENDERED__APPROVED and DECISION_RENDERED__INELIGIBLE are NOTIFICATION (final outcomes, no further input needed).
  • All NOTIFICATION__* types are NOTIFICATION.

Category 1: Additional Requirements - Documentation

Action type: SUBMISSION (always blocking) Resource types: Benefits Check, Prior Authorization This type is used when the payor is explicitly asking the provider to upload a document. This is distinct from the “Specific Details” types below - DOCUMENTATION means the payor wants a file (a form, a clinical report, etc.), not a specific data point. Example reason: “The payor requires an updated plan of care for this patient. Please upload the document so we can submit it to the payor for review.”

Category 2: Additional Requirements - Specific Details

Action type: SUBMISSION (always blocking) Resource types: Benefits Check, Prior Authorization These types are used when the payor has identified a concrete data problem - something is missing, incorrect, or needs confirmation. Unlike DOCUMENTATION, these escalations ask for specific data points (a corrected member ID, a date of birth, an NPI number) rather than a full document upload.

Patient Information

These escalations relate to data about the patient whose benefits check or prior authorization is being processed.

Provider Information

These escalations relate to data about the healthcare provider or clinician performing the service.

Treatment Information

These escalations relate to the clinical service or treatment being authorized.

Category 3: Decision Rendered

Resource types: varies by decision (see table below) These escalations are created when the payor has made a final determination on a prior authorization or benefits check. The reason field will contain details about the decision, and for denials and partial approvals, supplemental documents (like the payor’s denial letter) may be attached via supplemental_file_ids. The action type varies by decision type:

Decision Rendered - Reason Format

For DENIAL and PARTIALLY_APPROVED escalations, the reason field is prefixed with a standard header:
  • Denial: “This authorization has been denied by the payor. Please review the attached document for full details.”
  • Partial Approval: “This authorization has been partially approved by the payor. Please review the attached document for full details.”
This is followed by the specific details extracted from the payor’s decision document.

Category 4: Notifications

Action type: NOTIFICATION (always non-blocking) These escalations inform the provider about data discrepancies or updates that Silna discovered while processing the request. No response is required from the provider - Silna is sharing information that may be relevant to the provider’s records or understanding of the case. Notification types mirror the “Specific Details” subcategories above. The key difference: ADDITIONAL_REQUIREMENTS__SPECIFIC_DETAILS__* means “the payor needs you to fix/provide this data before we can proceed.” NOTIFICATION__* means “we noticed something about this data that you should be aware of, but we don’t need anything from you.”

Patient Notifications

Provider Notifications

Treatment Notifications


Resource Type Compatibility Matrix

Not all escalation types apply to both resource types. The table below shows which types can appear for each product line. Summary:
  • All ADDITIONAL_REQUIREMENTS__* types apply to both product lines.
  • DECISION_RENDERED__APPROVED/PARTIALLY_APPROVED/DENIAL/CANCELLED are Prior Authorization only (these are authorization decisions).
  • DECISION_RENDERED__INELIGIBLE is Benefits Check only (this is an eligibility determination).
  • NOTIFICATION__PATIENT__* and NOTIFICATION__PROVIDER__* are Benefits Check only.
  • NOTIFICATION__TREATMENT__* applies to both product lines.

Implementation Priority

Not all escalation types occur with equal frequency. The table below groups types by how often they appear in production to help you prioritize your integration.

High Frequency (must handle)

These types make up the vast majority of escalations. Your integration should have explicit handling for all of them. For Benefits Checks, the top three types (DOCUMENTATION, NOTIFICATION__PATIENT__INSURANCE, PATIENT__INSURANCE) account for over 90% of all escalations. For Prior Authorizations, the distribution is more spread out. Documentation requests and payor decisions (partial approvals and denials) dominate, but treatment-related additional requirements are also very common - payors frequently ask for more clinical justification during the authorization process.

Moderate Frequency (should handle)

These types appear regularly and warrant dedicated handling. Peer-to-peer types deserve special attention despite moderate volume as they require the treating clinician to schedule a call with the payor’s medical reviewer, which is time-sensitive.

Low Frequency (handle generically)

The remaining types appear infrequently. Rather than building dedicated handling for each, treat them generically using the action_type, reason, and status fields. Your integration should not break on any valid escalation type - if you encounter a type you don’t have specific handling for, fall back to displaying the reason text and the action_type to indicate whether provider action is needed.

Statuses

Each escalation moves through a lifecycle tracked by the status field.