Dental Patient Coordinator

Dental Services and Healthy Futures Director

Non-exempt (Hourly $19.00 - $25.00)

The Dental Patient Coordinator supports patients in understanding and completing recommended dental treatment by helping clarify treatment plans, estimated patient responsibility, payment expectations, prior authorization requirements, and scheduling readiness for higher-cost dental services.

This role serves as a financial and administrative bridge between the dental provider's treatment plan, the patient's understanding of cost and next steps, and the front desk's collection and scheduling workflows. The Dental Patient Coordinator helps remove financial and administrative barriers to care while supporting responsible use of clinic time and resources. Through clear communication, careful tracking, and follow-through, this role supports The HEART in Heartland values by helping remove financial and administrative barriers while protecting patient trust, clinic time, and program sustainability.

• Meet with or contact patients after dental appointments, as needed, to review recommended treatment, estimated patient responsibility, payment expectations, and next steps.
• Help patients understand costs related to crowns, bridges, dentures, partials, root canals, and other higher-cost or lab-related dental services.
• Provide additional information, resources, or internal referrals when finances are a barrier to completing recommended care.
• Communicate with patients in a clear, respectful, and supportive manner that reflects Heartland's mission and The HEART in Heartland values.

• Verify dental benefits and coverage information as needed to support treatment planning and patient communication.
• Complete, submit, and track dental prior authorizations in accordance with payer requirements and Heartland workflows.
• Review treatment plans, benefit information, sliding fee eligibility, and payer requirements to help determine estimated patient responsibility.
• Enter estimated patient responsibility into the appropriate system so Dental PSRs/front desk staff know what amount should be collected.
• Communicate authorization delays, denials, missing documentation, or payer-related barriers to the appropriate provider, patient, billing staff, or supervisor.

• Ensure required prior authorization, patient payment, lab coordination, and documentation steps are complete before scheduling applicable rehabilitative or lab-related dental appointments.
• Contact patients to schedule higher-cost or longer dental appointments once readiness requirements are met.
• Reinforce attendance expectations for longer appointments to reduce late cancellations, no-shows, and lost chair time.
• Follow up with patients before scheduled rehabilitative appointments as needed to support attendance and treatment completion.

• Monitor lab-related treatment workflows to help ensure patient charges, expected collections, and lab bills are reviewed and communicated appropriately.
• Track lab-related services such as crowns, bridges, dentures, partials, and other prosthetic or rehabilitative procedures.
• Coordinate with billing staff or dental leadership when lab fees, patient charges, or collection expectations appear inconsistent or need review.
• Identify recurring issues related to under-collection, payer limitations, lab charges, or patient payment barriers and communicate concerns to the supervisor.

• Document patient communication, prior authorization activity, estimated patient responsibility, payment status, resources provided, scheduling readiness, and follow-up actions accurately and timely.
• Review dental provider schedules to ensure patient responsibility information is entered and available for front desk collection workflows.
• Use eCW, payer portals, tracking tools, and other assigned systems accurately.
• Support compliance with Heartland policies, payer requirements, HIPAA, documentation standards, and dental program procedures.
• Complete assigned trainings in a timely manner.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Review dental treatment plans for services requiring patient financial coordination, prior authorization, lab involvement, or extended appointment time.
• Meet with or contact patients to explain recommended treatment, expected appointments, estimated costs, insurance coverage, prior authorization requirements, and payment expectations.
• Help patients understand their estimated patient responsibility for treatment, including applicable sliding fee scale, benefit limitations, copays, balances, and non-covered services.
• Communicate estimated patient responsibility to Dental PSRs/front desk staff so the appropriate amount can be collected before or at the time of service, according to Heartland policy.
• Ensure patients have paid the required patient portion…