S3 Episode 2: How We start our Day in AR

In season three, episode two of "Inside Dentistry Support," the focus is on the critical role of the dental billing department, or the AR team. The episode kicks off with the importance of checking in and maintaining clear communication in a virtual work environment. Team members are encouraged to actively engage on Microsoft Teams and keep their colleagues informed about their attendance and work progress. The episode emphasizes the need for synchronization with team members and clients to ensure smooth operations. Key tasks such as claims processing, payment posting, and continuous communication are highlighted as crucial for maintaining the financial health of dental clients. The episode also sets forth strict benchmarks, including the processing of 30 claims per hour and daily payment postings, to ensure efficiency and accuracy. Special attention is given to using dental insurance portals to expedite claims resolution and the importance of multitasking while on calls. Clear documentation and timely communication with clients are underscored as essential practices to prevent misunderstandings and delays. The episode wraps up with a reminder that no billing work should be done post-7:00 PM without pre-approval and reiterates the high-impact nature of dental billing work. Listeners are motivated to bring energy, communicate constantly, and maintain a strong presence to support their clients effectively.

Transcript

  📍  Hey team, and welcome to Inside Dentistry Support. You are listening to season three, episode two, and we are diving straight into the dental billing department or our AR team. You are the rock stars that keep our dental clients' financial health on point. This episode is going to walk you through exactly how we start the day.

Now, if you're on this team, this is a rhythm. This is a mindset. This is a movement that we want you carrying through. So even if you go through this episode and you don't see these things happening right now, or maybe you're new to the team and you're recognizing that that's not exactly how it's going, that's okay.

You are starting it off the right way, and I want you to put your head down and stay in your lane and do things the right way. That even means you, the leader that's been here for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 years and you're not doing things this way. Let's get on the right track. First things first, check in. Yes.

Seriously. I want you to say good morning. I want you to say, I'm here. I want you to tag your team lead. I want you to tag your team, whatever works, but let your team know you have arrived. You are here and you are working. This isn't about showing off, but it is about showing up. We work virtually. And the only way people know you are clocked in, focused and ready to serve our clients is if you tell them.

And remember, we are not in an office building. Microsoft Teams is our hallway. That's where we say hi. That's where we share updates and it's where we support one another and our clients.  So bring that energy in early. Set the tone. Do it every single day.  Before you even open a claim, a remote access a payment posting file. Our help desk, whatever it might be. Before you do anything, I want you to check your office's group channel. Is the doctor or team member asking about a claim from yesterday?

Did the in-house team post a payment that you need to reconcile because they didn't do it right? Did they forget to send you a file and now they let you know they did. 

Was a file corrupt that they sent you and now they sent you the new one. Are they upset that we haven't yet done something? Are we behind on claims research and they're asking questions? Do they have a new team member that needs access?

You can't do billing in a bubble. You need to start your day by syncing with the people that you serve. Syncing with the team members that work alongside you. And yes, use the reactions, hit the like, or drop a quick on it. When someone tags you, that is part of your presence. And your presence equals professionalism.

When you don't respond, when you don't react, when you ignore a request, when you think, I'm not gonna say anything 'cause I don't wanna jump on anybody's stoves. Or I don't wanna hurt somebody's feelings or say the wrong thing. When you lack the ability to interact, it actually brings down our team. So we need you to level up.

Now it's time to get into the work, open up your assigned office, get logged in. And get a pulse check. Ask yourself what claims are outstanding? What is approaching in 10 day, 20 day, or 30 day mark, what is my priority today? Am I behind on payment postings? Do I need to go send claims right now? Here at Dentistry Support, we don't just guess we work the data.

You should always know how many claims are waiting to be sent, how many claims need to be researched? What reports do I need to repo today? What is the health and wellness of this practice? You should know everything. It doesn't even matter what team you're on. If you send claims, you should know what claims need to be sent, what attachments are needed, what reports you need to check to make sure all the claims you sent yesterday were sent successfully.

You need to know how to find the data, to know where to be. Guided claims are your zone. The faster you find issues, the faster the office gets paid and the happier they are. You should be able to work at least 30 claims per hour, whether that's researching, posting payments, or sending claims 30 claims per hour.

Now, you may have different metrics for your office because of their size or type of claims, but know the basic benchmarks. If you can't meet those benchmarks, you need to speak to your supervisor or admin right away. Use insurance portals when you can. 

 Dental insurance portals are so important because they carry so much great information. You don't need to call the dental insurance company. Unless you really can't find something on a portal. So if you're doing claims research, pay close attention. What can you get online to decision that claim? If they're saying they need something, find a way to upload it online.

Let your claim sender know when you have a claim that needs something so that they can send it out. If you don't know how, take the time to do what needs to be done the right way and the quickest way. Now if you do need to call, you should be doing something else while you're waiting on hold. You shouldn't just be waiting on hold, sitting there waiting for someone to answer the line.

Take the time to be doing other tasks, researching other claims. Your tasks will be measured and if you tell us that you worked two claims in one hour cause you were waiting on hold, that will not be an acceptable answer. You absolutely should be multitasking while working. Phone calls are for stuck claims.

They're for missing data or escalations they are not your go-to. So make sure you understand what your flow looks like as a team member on our billing team document clearly. Make it understandable if you are working claims. You should be in our working insurance ar worksheet, making very clear notes and understanding exactly what has to be done in order to get that claim paid.

You should be moving about things very fast, very effectively, and very thoroughly. If you are assigned to post payments, you need to post payments every single day. Our offices count on us to keep their ledgers clean and up to date. If you are running behind, no problem. You just need to let someone know.

Tag your office and let them know I'm still posting payments. I am finishing up yesterday's patience. All be done by X time on X date. Silence is never acceptable. We don't ghost our clients. We guide our clients. That's what makes us different here at Dentistry Support. If you have an office that sent you a ton of claims and there's no way you can post all of those claim payments in this specific shift that you're assigned to evaluate, find out how much time you need and communicate that to the office.

Dr. Smiles, I see here you uploaded 100 payments that need to be posted. Unfortunately, I won't be able to finish that in my entire shift, but I am going to start that today. Okay, my goal is to finish 50 of these, the other 50. I have a goal of finishing by tomorrow at 3:00 PM I'm gonna let you know what I finished this afternoon, and then tomorrow at 3:00 PM I'll let you know when I'm finished or if I need a little bit more time.

But I wanted to set really good expectations so you aren't assuming I'm finishing this all today. Our clients are not angry when we communicate. They're angry, when we're quiet, when they have to follow up, when they have to ask questions. If you send claims, we send all of them the same day. We worked. If you research claims, we research 30 claims per hour.

We get done with all claims research every 10 days, and then pull new reports and re research, see where that money is. Our benchmark with our clients is that they will get paid in the same month that they produce the treatment. So if it is the month of October, everything we bill out in October, we need to post the payment in October.

That means our claim sender has to send on time. Our claims researcher has to research on schedule. Our payment poster has to post on schedule. If all three departments don't do their job individually on time and accurately, we are behind and it creates issues for our offices.

You should be researching every claim on the account. Every 10 days. You should be moving through 30 claims per hour. You should post payments every single day.  We send claims every single day. Say something before it becomes a problem. If you're confused, speak up.

It's not weakness. That is leadership. I wanna be super clear on a few things before we finish out this episode. There is no billing work that happens after 7:00 PM without pre-approval. Our payroll shuts off at 7:00 PM and hours past that point are unpaid unless you are on an approved schedule or cleared for overtime.

If you need extra time, all you have to do is ask, but you cannot work in silence and hope that someone notices or hope that you get paid. There are no hours paid past 7:00 PM. Dental billing is a high impact job. You are the reason someone else is getting paid today. You are the reason a doctor is breathing easier.

You are the reason a patient's balance is correct. So show up with energy, communicate constantly, and remember, you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be present. Let's set the tone, lead the day and show our clients what real billing support looks like. You've got this. I'll  📍 catch you on the next episode.