About the role
We are seeking a persistent, organized, and empathetic Patient Collections Specialist to join a revenue cycle team. In this role, you will focus on minimizing outstanding accounts receivable by proactively contacting patients regarding their past-due balances for dental and orthodontic services (including surgeries, imaging, and orthodontic procedures).
The ideal candidate is comfortable managing a high volume of outbound calls and possesses the unique ability to balance confident financial negotiations with a compassionate, patient-first approach.
Primary Responsibilities
- Proactive Patient Outreach: Conduct a high volume of outbound calls to patients with past-due balances, managing account inquiries with professionalism and tact.
- Payment Processing: Secure and process patient payments safely over the phone via credit cards, HSA/FSA cards, and ACH transactions.
- Structured Payment Arrangements: Assess patient financial situations and, when appropriate, establish structured payment plans that ensure balances are recovered efficiently.
- Commitment Tracking: Monitor and follow up on promised payments to ensure financial agreements are fulfilled on schedule.
- Precise Account Documentation: Accurately document every patient interaction, payment commitment, and financial transaction within the practice’s billing system.
- A/R Optimization: Work strategically to reduce the practice's outstanding accounts receivable while maintaining high patient retention and satisfaction.
- Regulatory Compliance: Maintain absolute professionalism and ensure strict compliance with all applicable patient privacy (HIPAA) and collections regulations (FDCPA).
Requirements
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Bilingual Fluency: Native or fully professional fluency in both English and Spanish is strictly required. You must be completely comfortable and articulate navigating complex financial and medical conversations in both languages.
- Proven Experience: 2+ years of dedicated experience in patient collections, medical accounts receivable, or healthcare and dental billing.
- Specialty Knowledge: Prior experience navigating dental billing, surgery balances, or dental and orthodontic claims is highly preferred.
- Call Volume Comfort: Proven comfort and resilience in handling a high volume of outbound collection calls daily.
- Financial Communication Skills: Confidence in navigating sensitive conversations about financial obligations, coupled with excellent negotiation and conflict-resolution skills.
- Technical Agility: Hands-on experience with medical billing systems, Electronic Health Records (EHR), and cloud-based phone/VoIP software.
- Core Competencies: A unique blend of empathy, persistence, and strong organizational skills.
- Remote Infrastructure: Ability to work completely independently in a private, quiet home office setup with high-speed internet and zero background noise.