The purpose of this position is to provide assistance to patients, staff, Faculty/Students of the Howard University Hospital Faculty Practice Plan.

SUPERVISORY ACCOUNTABILITY:     

Involves no responsibility or authority for the direction of others.

NATURE AND SCOPE:            

External contacts include a variety of third-party payers, dental organizations, patients, and other healthcare personnel. Internal contacts include the dental faculty and staff, employees of the HU COD.

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:       

• Greets and directs patients for appointments, referrals, and general information utilizing excellent and effective customer service skills.
• Answers telephones, screens calls as directed, takes messages, and schedules appointments utilizing the computerized scheduling system. Also, confirms appointments and provides patient instructions verbally or in writing in order for patients to prepare for appointments. Ensures that patients are handled consistently and schedule for appointments in a manner that recognizes the urgency of their needs and complaints.
• Implements effective front office business processes that will result in improved financial performance and will preserve or improve current customer service levels.  These processes will include but are not limited to point-of-service patient registration into the Axium system, insurance verification, and pre-authorizations
• Prior to patient visits, history verification and collection of time-of-service payments and co-pays.
• Works with patients and the business office on unpaid balances from previous visits before scheduling subsequent appointments.        
• Represents assigned Student Dentists/Student Hygienists appropriately and maintains effective relations within the clinical enterprise, Business Office, and other key constituencies.
• Verifies insurance eligibility and assists in collecting payments.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

CORE COMPETENCIES:

• Knowledge of the activities of the Division to perform necessary clerical functions and requirements of the organization, including knowledge of hospital policies and third-party payers.
• Knowledge of dental terminology and basic billing.
• Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations.
• Ability to perform basic math functions, compute rates, ratios, and percents, and to interpret bar graphs.
• Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form.
• Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in situations with limited standardization.
• Ability to operate a computer, photocopier, and other standard office equipment.
• Ability to sort and file materials correctly by alphabetic or numeric systems.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with patients, employees, and the public.
•  Ability to communicate English orally and in writing with people from various educational levels and backgrounds, as well as the ability to speak clearly and concisely
• Ability to plan, organize, coordinate, and prioritize work in situations where demands of a diverse nature are involved.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

High School diploma or GED and 1-3 years of general work experience. AA/AS may be substituted for 4 years of required work experience.  BA/BS may be substituted for up to 4 years of work experience.