Dental Office Accounts Receivable and the Role of a Front Office Manager

Dental Office Accounts Receivable and the Role of a Front Office Manager

In a dental practice, front office managers play a major role in evaluating dental insurance plans and managing the revenue collection process.

www.outsourcestrategies.com

Phone: 1-800-670-2809

A dental office manager is responsible to ensure that a dentist’s office and various business processes are running smoothly. The office manager is responsible for verifying that the office collects from both insurance companies and patients, and is paid for work completed.

A good collection ratio is 95% to 99%. The collections from one month to another may vary depending on many factors, but over a 12-month period, the office collects nearly all of what is produced. A dental office manager’s responsibilities may include scheduling and confirming appointments to dental insurance verification, submitting insurance claims, hiring more staff, and more.

It is common for the dental office to carry balances on patient accounts. Major reasons why dental offices don’t get paid in full are that insurance companies do not pay what is expected, the patient leaves a balance or stops making payments toward the agreed-upon payment plan. Dentists often leave their AR management to their front desk employees.

Unorganized A/R will make it difficult for the staff to review the reports. When an in-house solution proves challenging, many dental practices also consider benefiting from outsourced dental medical billing services.

The front office team must have a clear idea on effective methods of collecting old balances as well as daily balances. A collections plan can be created to make sure patients receive statements. It is important to call them as soon as they acquire a balance so the office can be paid quickly and balances do not sit inactive for more than 30 days.

Effective Methods a Dental Office Manager Could Follow to Maintain a Low AR

Let the patient know the dental office’s financial policy - A consistent office policy is a critical factor for a practice’s healthy growth. A strict, clear written financial policy is a key tool for keeping the practice collections running at peak efficiency. The major concern is that the patient should be fully aware of the payment that is expected on the day of service. The office manager should explain the practice’s payment policy at the time of the initial phone call from a new patient.

The policy can be outlined in the office portfolio, and it can be either mailed ahead of time to each new patient or provided to them at their first appointment.

www.outsourcestrategies.com

Phone: 1-800-670-2809

Provide better payment option for patients - The payment method is another concern, as it influences the cost of collections. It is important to check the money the practice loses in service charges. While introducing payment options, cash and debit card can be given priority, as they cost minimal charges per transaction. Some dental practices do not allow check payment, as there are issues with clearing them, processing fees and increased chances to re-issue payment. An ideal way is to explain to the patients that if they prefer to pay by check, there will be a fee for processing non-sufficient funds (NSF) checks.

Keep the accounts up-to-date - For smooth revenue management, statements should be done daily. Once balances are unpaid for a long period, the chances are more for the dental office to write it off.

Processing statements daily – 

Enables the office manager and support team to be familiar with every account and if a patient is in the schedule who owes money, it can be easily collected



Helps the front office team to make their job of collecting money less frustrating and overwhelming



Eliminates the need to spend more time on statements and makes the collection job less frustrating

Figure out and explain to the patients where their outstanding balance is coming from. Make the patients understand that they must pay. Also, help them figure out a payment plan.

Exploring different options and working with the patients helps both parties achieve the desired results. A front office manager should also be skilled enough to monitor over-thecounter collections and new patients as well. It is extremely important to monitor not only the positive accounts receivable but also the credit balances. Laws and rules may vary with each state. For instance, in Washington, the front office manager must report and send any non-active credit balances to the Department of Revenue, which will list it on their unclaimed property report.

www.outsourcestrategies.com

Phone: 1-800-670-2809