Patient Care Coordinator

Job Description:

Summary: The Dental Patient Care Coordinator I is the initial resource person for patients entering the Petaluma Health Center Dental Clinic, and sets the tone for welcoming patients. Responsible for managing all aspects of the practice’s schedule. Responsible for managing a variety of other duties related to prospective and existing patients, including coordinating all elements before, during, and following the patient appointment.

Areas of Responsibility:

Patient Care
• Responsible for greeting, timely patient registration, check in and check out procedures
• Introduce new patients to the practice by going over health history, explaining the doctor’s examination, and describing any other features about the practice that should be highlighted
• Conducts treatment consultations with all new patients and with existing patients when new treatment plans are created
• Assists patients with transportation needs
• Appropriately refers patients to Outreach for program eligibility determination
• Educates patients about our sliding scale program and collect application information

Office Management
• Performs a variety of miscellaneous clerical tasks as time permits
• Follows established practice phone scripts
• Answers phone with a pleasant voice in a timely manner and routes and addresses calls appropriately
• Schedules appointments according to policy and scheduling templates. Maintains the practice schedule on a daily basis
• Works with their supervisor to develop policies for patients surrounding the schedule (i.e. cancellations, confirmations, patients who arrive late, emergency appointments)
• Responsible of the practice’s new patient appointment system and the practice’s emergency appointment system
• Actively manages no shows; Follows-up with all cancelled or failed patient appointments to reschedule
• Reviews the schedule each day with appropriate team members
• Responsible of the practice’s confirmation system to ensure patients are confirmed for appointments
• Responsible of the practice’s recall system, to ensure patients are scheduled for continuing care appointments
• Schedules appointments for referrals
• Prepares for all patient appointments by checking eligibility, collecting dental benefit information, sending all necessary paperwork
• Confirms all patient appointments
• Ensures that patient records are accurate and complete, and that patient confidentiality is strictly maintained in accordance with Petaluma Health Center’s confidentiality policies and procedures
• Understands the practice’s policy on working with dental benefit plans and is prepared to educate patients on their dental benefits. Coordinates this effort with their supervisor
• Proficient with the phone system and the call flow; uses it efficiently and effectively
• Informs clinical staff and the doctor(s) of changes to the schedule each day and throughout the work-day
• Communicates with the supervisor to determine patients on the daily schedule with outstanding balances or who are in need of a financial consultation or treatment consultation

Office Dental Systems
• Accurately captures Patient demographic, Insurance and structured data into Dentrix at each patient encounter. Closely follows the Patient Check-In and Check-Out Policies
• Timely follows up on eCW telephone encounters routed by supervisor. Documents outcomes.
• Checks insurance eligibility and co-pays, etc
• Tracks lab cases regularly
• Accepts payments, issues receipts, ensures safe keeping of all cash, checks and payments received.
• Posts charges, payments, and adjustments. Runs daily deposit report and reconciles cash
• Monitors and tracks all unaccepted treatment plans and follows-up with patients in a timely manner
• Keeps the dental record up to date; works on CC list, ASAP list, Active/Inactive list, Referrals list, Unscheduled treatment plans as delegated
• Uses the Office Journal and the Document Center to store and organize important patient and visit information
• Familiar with access of PHC programs including Medi-Cal and CHDP. Provides patients with outside resources if needed
• Makes sure informed consent is attached to all treatment planned procedures as well as all pertinent office policies
• Creates and maintains computerized patient records

Other Duties
• Performs other duties as assigned by their supervisor

Experience and Skills:

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Education/Experience:
• High school graduate or equivalent
• Minimum of 1 year experience in a health care related field or customer service experience
• Experience providing strong customer service
• Dental experience preferred

Desired Skills:
• Excellent communication and customer service skills
• Exceptional organizational skills
• Ability to conduct detailed work according to the practice’s established formats and policies
• Familiarity with electronic dental and medical records
• Basic working knowledge of insurance coverage, eligibility, claims submission and the preauthorization process
• Ability to multi-task and work with interruptions
• Ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with patients and demonstrate a friendly attitude, even while under pressure or when patients are upset
• Ability to manage and train staff as it relates to the practice’s schedule and new protocols
• Ability to utilize the computer, multiple phone lines, copier, scanner, credit card processing equipment
• Ability to promote the practice and educate patients on the treatment benefits
• Sensitive to the needs and situations of multi-cultural populations from a variety of income levels

Language Skills: Ability to read and write English and Spanish effectively required.

Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions and decimals.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to recognize problems, collect data and establish facts.

Computer Skills: Proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel and Outlook), Dental Practice management software knowledge (Dentrix Enterprise) preferred, and use of a web browser.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Movement within health center complex environment repeatedly throughout the day
• Ability to write by hand, use phone, use computer keyboard and mouse extensively to perform general office functions
• Manual wrist and finger dexterity and wrist-finger speed sufficient to perform repetitive actions for extended periods of time
• Repetitive motion with word processing and data entry
• Heavy phone use
• Ability to effectively communicate by hearing continuously and speech in a manner which can be understood by a diverse population
• Ability to give and follow verbal and written instructions with attention to detail and accuracy
• Must have visual acuity near and far (20 inches to 20 feet), depth perception, field of vision, ability to focus on an object, ability to identify and distinguish colors
• Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time (minimum periods of one (1) hour at a time)
• Ability to frequently walk, bend, squat, stoop, kneel, twist, crouch, and climb with the use of a step stool
• Ability to grasp, hold and pick up and reach with hands and arms
• Ability to frequently lift and or move up to fifteen (15) pounds
• Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to twenty-five (25) pounds (periodic lifting of supplies or equipment)
• Ability to coordinate multiple tasks simultaneously
• Ability to travel to and from other health center sites and community locations