Patient Services Coordinator II

Howard University

83d•$56,363 - $62,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission. At Howard University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth.

Requirements

Associate degree and four (4) years of progressively responsible dental front-office, clinical coordination, patient access, or healthcare administration experience, including scheduling, insurance verification, claim follow-up or rebilling, and treatment-plan support.
Thorough working knowledge of dental terminology, common CDT codes, payer requirements, claim forms, scheduling, registration, and revenue-cycle processes.
Proficiency with axiUm or a comparable dental practice-management system and ability to research claim and account discrepancies across reports and patient records.
Ability to interpret explanations of benefits, claim status, benefit limitations, preauthorization requirements, and standard treatment estimates.
Ability to coordinate complex workflows, interpret policy, prioritize independently, and exercise sound judgment.
Ability to de-escalate patient concerns and communicate expectations firmly, clearly, and respectfully.
Ability to train others, conduct operational audits, document findings, and recommend corrective action.
Strong mathematical, reconciliation, analytical, organizational, and written communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in healthcare administration, business administration, or a related field.
Experience in an academic dental institution or specialty dental clinic.
Experience with axiUm or comparable systems, dental preauthorizations, claim follow-up, rebilling, treatment-plan review, record audits, staff training, and clinic reconciliation.

Responsibilities

Coordinates daily operations of an assigned clinic, module, or specialty area, including patient routing, provider/student assignments, desk coverage, and follow-through on incomplete activity.
Monitors schedules, chair utilization, cancellations, and bottlenecks; makes permitted same-day adjustments and recommends workflow improvements.
Coordinates complex, urgent, and multidisciplinary appointments within established clinical and sequencing requirements.
Reviews appointment requests for readiness, required referrals, authorizations, records, and treatment sequence before scheduling.
Researches and resolves scheduling discrepancies and communicates coordinated next steps to patients and care teams.
Manages escalated access and service concerns and documents resolution or referral to leadership.
Audits assigned records for missing signatures, consents, clinical documentation, appointment notes, and required supporting information; tracks deficiencies to resolution.
Performs insurance eligibility and benefit review and initiates, submits, or tracks routine preauthorization requests using approved workflows.
Maintains assigned insurance work queues, payer portals, follow-up logs, and supporting documentation.
Monitors adherence to HIPAA, payer, University, and clinic requirements and reports recurring or significant variances.
Reviews daily clinic activity for charge capture, completion status, provider/student attribution, and consistency between sign-in records and AxiUm.
Follows up on assigned unpaid, rejected, or returned claims; obtains claim status and documents payer responses and required next actions.
Corrects nonclinical claim errors and resubmits or rebills claims with required attachments and information in accordance with payer and University procedures.
Assists faculty and students with correction of routine billing-completion issues without altering clinical documentation or making unauthorized coding decisions.
Identifies denials, underpayments, coordination-of-benefits issues, and payer trends requiring escalation to the Billing Specialist, PCC III, or management.
Reconciles daily batches, researches variances, and submits complete documentation to Revenue Control.
Reviews treatment plans for required signatures, sequencing, insurance estimates, authorizations, and supporting documentation before treatment begins.
Explains approved treatment estimates, insurance limitations, patient responsibility, and standard financial policies within delegated authority.
Coordinates routine financial clearances and payment-plan documentation using approved terms and refers exceptions or complex cases to the PCC III or management.
Tracks patient follow-up and treatment-plan readiness and communicates outstanding requirements to patients, students, faculty, and the Business Office.
Trains and coaches PCC I staff and student workers on approved procedures, systems, customer service, and documentation standards.
Compiles routine operational data and identifies trends involving no-shows, incomplete documentation, unposted activity, patient wait times, and workflow barriers.
Participates in process-improvement initiatives and supports implementation of revised procedures.
Performs other related duties as assigned.