Imagine you go to see a performance on Broadway (lucky you!). You’re swept up in the story and the acting, and you’re quick to give the actors a standing ovation at the end. But there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into a successful show, too: everything from the lighting to the stage management. And while you might not see them over the course of the show, it’s actually the stage crew that deserves a lot of the credit for that production of Wicked that you loved so much. These individuals are the unsung heroes of Broadway.
And while there’s much less singing and dancing when you visit the dentist, there’s also one behind-the-scenes role that most patients never see, but that keeps the whole place running: the financial coordinator. Financial coordinators (or FCs) play an essential role in running a dental practice’s business. Depending on the size of the practice, there are a number of day-to-day responsibilities for a financial coordinator.
In this article, we’ll walk through the many tasks and projects that an FC generally owns at a dental practice. We’ll also cover the ways in which Wieldy, an AI-powered revenue management software, can help FCs accomplish these tasks more efficiently.
The role of a financial coordinator might start before a patient even sits down in the dental chair. First, an FC will verify the patient’s insurance information. Depending on what is or is not covered by insurance, this can also include providing estimates about the costs involved in a treatment plan and ensuring that patients are fully informed about their financial obligations before moving forward with a procedure.
In some cases, FCs will also perform a prior-authorization, which entails working with the insurance company to approve a planned procedure before it happens. All of this is done to make sure that things go more smoothly for both the patient and the practice after the dental work has been done.
Once a patient has a procedure done at the dentist’s office, financial coordinators manage the billing process from top to bottom. They generate invoices, process payments, and handle any billing-related inquiries from patients.
If a patient's account should become overdue, the financial coordinator will also take steps to collect that payment.
The financial coordinator might also help patients set up payment plans if they cannot pay their bills in full. FCs might also assist with the application process for healthcare financing options, if that option is available.
A crucial part of the financial coordinator's role is handling insurance claims. They liaise with insurance companies to ensure that claims are submitted correctly and promptly, and that they are then processed accurately by the insurance provider. If it appears that a claim isn’t being processed correctly, an FC will work through it with the insurance company. They will also follow up on any denied claims and attempt to resolve these issues.
Managing insurance claims is perhaps the most time-consuming part of the job for FCs: it involves routinely visiting multiple different carrier websites, constantly checking emails, and even sifting through paper mail sent to the office to find prior-authorization approvals, EOBs, and ETFs.
It also often entails calling in to insurance companies to sort out issues with filed claims. These calls can involve a lot of time waiting on hold (listening to a lot of Muzak), and the calls often have to be done individually (as opposed to batched) — which adds even more time to the process.
Beyond looking at each individual patient’s payment plan and handling all insurance claims, financial coordinators are also typically responsible for reconciling the practice's financial accounts, ensuring that all transactions are recorded accurately and discrepancies are resolved.
This is a daily practice for most FCs: the “end of day close” involves reconciling all checks, cash, and credit card payments by visiting payment processor sites, billing apps, and practice management systems. FCs will work across multiple internal systems, insurance claims websites, and bank accounts to do a simple verification and recording of whether a payment went through.
All of this is done to manage their accounts receivable (or A/R, for short). For example, an FC will review the A/R report for patient accounts and compare it to the A/R report for insurance accounts, looking specifically at outstanding payments that haven’t been received. Based on what they see, an FC might then need to chase down an insurer or patient to make sure the practice gets paid.
In some practices, the financial coordinator is also involved in budgeting and financial reporting. They might prepare regular financial reports for the practice owners based on the account receivables, or they could be involved in developing and managing the practice's overall budget.
The financial coordinator works closely with other staff members at a dental practice, particularly the office manager and the treatment coordinator. They’re in regular communication with these team members to ensure that all financial matters are handled smoothly.
An FC will also develop relationships with the various insurance providers they work with. Having strong ties into these companies can make an FCs job much easier, helping them navigate the complex world of insurance as they work to get claims approved.
Finally — and perhaps most importantly — the financial coordinator helps patients understand their payment options, including what is and is not covered by insurance.
And one important additional note: as they handle sensitive financial and personal information, financial coordinators are responsible for maintaining strict confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA regulations and any other applicable law.
The Wieldy platform was built to serve as a trusty co-pilot for FCs, helping them accomplish the many, many tasks that go into their role.
One of the responsibilities of FCs is to reconcile the numbers across financial accounts. This often requires FCs to gather information across multiple sources and then do repeat, manual data entry to keep everything current. But through the power of AI, Wieldy is able to pull data out of insurance carrier websites, bank accounts, and PDFs and input it all into one single platform for FCs to manage.
Wieldy also does the heavy-lifting and reconciles that payment information for FCs. This alone has proven to make FCs 45-50% faster and more efficient with their time — freeing them up from tedious, manual work and instead allowing them to spend more time on proactive management of the back office.
Given the number of responsibilities they juggle, it can be hard for FCs to stay on top of the running list of tasks they need to accomplish each day. With Wieldy, FCs can create effective to-do lists with associated urgency levels — ensuring that they can stay on top of the most time-sensitive actions.
In addition to improving the workflow for FCs and serving as their co-pilot on day-to-day tasks, Wieldy also helps FCs take stock of their overall output. Wieldy provides powerful custom reporting tools that FCs can use for account receivables, for instance. Wieldy’s AI also comes up with personalized recommendations on how to improve the collection process over time. With these recommendations in hand, FCs can make changes to their workflow to increase payments received and decrease the amount of time they spend doing it.
Financial coordinators are involved at all stages of a patient’s visit to the dentist: from handling pre-authorization on a procedure beforehand to following up on payments after the dental work is done. It’s a lot to juggle, which is why we built Wieldy to be the copilot for the FCs in your dental practice. Wieldy’s AI-powered software takes work off of an FCs plate, giving them time back to focus on improving processes and increasing payments.
If you’re interested in learning more about Wieldy, sign up for the waitlist here and a member of the team will reach out with information.