Dental Office Assistant

Description

POSITION SUMMARY:
The Clinical Secretary is responsible for all functions performed during the patient check-in to and check-out of the dental area. These include, but are not limited to, registering patients, scheduling appointments, scheduling internal and external referral appointments, acquiring prior authorizations, collecting cash, and posting daily encounters. Coordinates clerical aspects of patient’s dental services to ensure completeness and continuity of dental care.

• Maintains a professional environment in a multi-provider, multidiscipline organization.
• Maintains a patient centered environment to ensure patients’ continuity of care, advocate for patients.
• Positive attitude towards co-workers and other health center departments.
• Performs tasks within the scope of secretarial standards.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Telephone calls – answers calls, books appointments, assists the caller.
2. Internal appointments – schedules patients for initial and follow-up dental visits at the dental clinic.
3. Referral appointments/tracking – may schedule referral appointments for the patients at the referred dental specialists. 
4. Check-in – greets and registers patients as they arrive. Verifies accuracy of patient demographics, electronic eligibility verification and insurance information. Assemble paper charts. Monitors patients’ wait-time. 
5. Waiting Room – monitors patients in the waiting room to ensure all are checked-in. Keep the business office and waiting room neat and orderly at all times.
6. Encounters – enters encounters in practice management system during check-out 
function. Ensures proper procedural entry for all dental provider visits. Verifies accuracy 
of entries and the capture of all encounters on a daily basis.
7. Cash – collects patient copays and deductibles. Collects periodic deposits in advance of 
scheduled procedures. Balances daily cash drawer and credit card receipts. 
8. Communication – serves as liaison between BNHC Dental Department, patients and other agencies to ensure continuity of patients’ dental care. Communicates any patient issues received via telephone, voicemail, letters, or walk-ins to the providers. 
9. Forms – assists with any patient correspondence. Coordinates issuing of the dental chart copies and films to patients, when requested.
10. Reporting – prints provider schedules and encounter balancing reports, as needed. May be required to gather and enter other electronic information in practice management system for reporting and tracking purposes.
11. Interprets – may be called upon without notice to assist providers with interpreting.
12. Equipment & software – ensures proper use of all office equipment (fax, copier, PC, email, practice management software, printers, phones, voicemail, etc) in accordance with office policy. Maintains proper supplies for its use. Immediately reports any malfunction.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:
1. May perform other duties as assigned by supervisor or department head.
2. Attend meetings and seminars to keep abreast of changing needs within the industry and department.

Professional Behavior:

• Demonstrates characteristics of accountability and responsibility.
• Is reliable and dependable as demonstrated by excellent attendance, punctuality, and thorough follow through of work tasks.
• Maintains patient confidentiality at all times.
• Maintains discretion of conversation in work areas.
• Is pleasant, courteous, and considerate of patients and co-workers. Interacts properly and professionally with patients and other co-workers.
• Demonstrates ability to prioritize demands, work with distractions, adapt to change, exercise efficient time management, and work independently.
• Demonstrates good communication skills.
• Maintains appropriate chain of command.
•  Attends meetings

QUALITY ASSURANCE/IMPROVEMENT:

• Participates in the betterment of the health center through studies and reviews as necessary.
• Goal setting – continually assess personal, team and organization goals.

TEAMWORK ORIENTATION:

• Maintains and encourages teamwork.
• Maintains consistent effort to further goals by modifying and/or improving individual procedures and tasks.
• Conflict Management—manages conflict with staff and patients appropriately

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Graduate of a secretarial or dental assistant program preferred.
• High School graduate or equivalent.
• Willingness and ability to learn all aspects of job requirements.
• High level of interpersonal and professional skills.
• Bilingual required.

Salary : $17 - $20