Patient Care Coordinator
Overview
The Patient Care Coordinator works as part of a team within the Group Practice Model at Touro Dental Health and ensures the delivery of high‑quality dental care services by collaborating with faculty, students, and patients to achieve dental care goals and maintain open communication. The coordinator directly reports to the Patient Care Coordinator Lead and indirectly to the Clinical Practice Leader. This role strives to make each phase of patient treatment a positive experience, from the initial phone call through the completion of dental treatment, and serves as the primary point of contact for patients within the Group Practices.
Responsibilities
Support the Group Practice Team with patient care management.
Perform patient check‑in duties, including updating patient demographics, insurance information, verifying eligibility, consent, and signed treatment plan.
Manage assigned students by monitoring the timeliness of patient treatment activity on a regular basis.
Monitor student attendance and patient roster.
Monitor student entry and obtain faculty approval of daily codes and notes.
Run and review daily student production reports.
Meet at least weekly with CPL or discipline Director to review student compliance.
Manage clinic activity and patient treatment by acting as a liaison between faculty, staff, students, and patients, ensuring teamwork among them.
Increase student productivity by maximizing space utilization.
Manage the population of patients assigned to the clinic by monitoring patient treatment needs and responding to their questions and concerns.
Collect and process payments, submit pre‑authorizations for treatment plans.
Evaluate and authorize patient account adjustments to assure accurate reports, patient records, and student activity.
Communicate to patient to minimize or resolve patient issues within the school before escalation to the Director of Clinical Operations or Associate Director of Clinic Education.
Run and maintain patient waitlist reports and review scheduling opportunities, including emergencies and backfill patients into student provider open slots:
Review phone call and utilization reports to aid in optimal use of chair time.
Update scheduled patient appointment status to indicate cancelled or no‑show appointments.
Send patient follow‑up letters based on the established discontinuance protocols for patients who have become hard to contact, or who have consecutive failed appointments, and/or who have selected self‑discontinuance established by the Office of Clinical Operations.
Perform check‑out duties, including validation of completed notes and treatment, booking follow‑up appointment if needed, collecting outstanding balance, processing bills/invoices, and walk‑out statement for services provided, notifying patient of required payment due at next session, verifying session close.
Perform End of Day closing duties, ensuring all charges are processed and reconciling daily payment transactions with the Finance Office.
Other duties and assignments of work in support of clinic operations and patient care services as needed.
Qualifications
High school diploma or equivalent (GED) required.
Experience in a dental office preferred.
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Must be available for work during the hours assigned for student instruction and practice development.
Fluent in English; Spanish speaking a plus.
Accurate data entry skills; experience with AxiUm computer program entry is desirable.
Strong computer literacy skills, including MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook).
Previous experience (1‑3 years) working in a customer service environment with heavy patient interaction; prior experience in healthcare, private practice, office, hospital clinic, or dental practice preferred.
Ability to be flexible and adapt to changes in the work environment, including delays and unexpected events.
Proactive communication skills, both written and verbal, utilizing tact and diplomacy.
Exceptional customer service skills and professionalism in communications and demeanor.
Effective organizational and planning skills, including attention to detail and follow‑through.
Ability to take direction, assess, and prioritize multiple tasks, projects, and demands to help dental students and faculty daily.
Adherence to confidentiality, state, federal, and HIPAA laws and guidelines regarding patient records.
Ability to work collegially with others in a workplace of dignity and respect, and EEO rules and regulations.
Physical Demands
Able to lift up to 5 lbs.
This position requires compliance with the NYMC campus Vaccine Mandate policy.