When you’re in charge of operating a small dental practice, dental billing is at the very top of your priority list. After all, filling claims, sending bills, and receiving payments in a timely matter is what keeps your doors open. The problem is that it takes a tremendous amount of work. From accurately billing dental insurance companies to following up on overdue bills to receiving and applying payments to accounts, dental billing is a full-time job. However, not every practice has the revenue to hire a full-time, in-house dental billing professional, which leaves all of that work up to the office manager, practice administrator, or in very small practices, even the dentist themself. Thankfully, there is another option. Many dental practice owners wonder what is a dental billing virtual assistant.
Dental billing virtual assistants make it easy for practice administrators, office managers and solopreneur dentists to get the dental billing help they need at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house staff. Whether your dental office specializes in cosmetic dentistry, pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, or something else, a dental billing VA can help you keep your practice running smoothly without the expense of hiring local staff.
What is a dental billing virtual assistant?
A dental billing virtual assistant is just like an in-house billing employee, except this person works remotely. Your billing VA can handle all the tasks that an in-house billing person would be responsible for, including:
Contacting insurance companies for pre-authorization for treatment and procedures.
Fielding patient inquiries about billing, saving your office countless frustrating hours on the phone while also providing excellent customer service that keeps patients happy.
Keeping payments and bills up to date, organized and accurate, so you always have an accurate picture of your practice’s finances.
Tracking down late payments.
Working with patients with overdue bills and helping them with payment plans.
Submitting claims to insurance companies with all proper documentation so they are paid on time with less back-and-forth between the practice and the insurance company.
How would a dental billing VA work with my office?
If you haven’t yet worked with a remote employee, you’ll be amazed at how seamlessly someone can be an integral part of your team without ever stepping foot in your building.
Your remote dental billing assistant will work with your team just as if they were in your office — by accessing your digital network. This is accomplished using secure sharing software and an internet connection. Your remote billing person will be able to send and receive emails, access files in your network, update your accounting spreadsheets, send bills, and keep accurate records from wherever they are in the world.
A similar process happens when it comes to making and receiving phone calls from your local office number. Using secure software, your remote virtual assistant will be able to make and receive calls from your business phone number, even if they work across the ocean from your office location. Your phone number will pop up on caller ID to the recipient so it appears that your dental billing VA is calling right from your office.
If I hire a dental billing virtual assistant, will I work with the same person every day?
Yes! When you hire a virtual assistant from an agency such as MedVa, that person becomes your employee, and you will work with the same person every day. Your new remote employee will be trained specifically to your workflow and systems, and you can communicate with them as often as you like. Your VA can even attend company meetings virtually, and of course, communicate with your other staff members, too. Your dental billing VA is just like any other member of your staff. The only difference is that they work remotely.
What’s the benefit of hiring a virtual assistant over an in-house dental billing person?
Remote work has allowed companies to access the best talent in the world, not just in their hometowns. With a virtual assistant, you get to jump on the bandwagon, too.
Although we can’t speak for every agency that staffs dental virtual assistants, we can tell you that all of our virtual assistants are highly trained professionals with certifications, degrees, and experience that make them true assets to the practices where they work. We know how difficult it can be to find high-quality dental office employees, so we help our clients tap into the talent of the world to find dependable, trained, expert dental billing employees that uphold dental practices’ exacting standards.
Even better, hiring a dental billing virtual assistant is a fraction of the cost of hiring an in-house employee. For the minimum wage cost of your state, your dental practice can employ a highly trained billing professional from across the globe, whereas the same high-quality employee in the United States (if you could find one in your hometown), could cost upwards of $40 per hour.
Plus, when you hire a remote employee via a company like MedVa, you’re not responsible for paying that employee’s benefits, health insurance, time off, or workers’ compensation insurance – a tremendous saving over the traditional employment model.
How can I know that my dental billing VA is working when they say they are if I can’t physically see them in my office?
When you’re paying an employee by the hour, you want to make sure you’re getting what you’re paying for. At MedVa, all of our virtual assistants’ computers are equipped with technology that tracks when the employee is actively working. You’re welcome to see the reports of hours logged as often as you like, so you can feel confident that you are getting your money’s worth from your dental billing assistant.
Want to know more about how a virtual dental billing employee can help you?
MedVa’s virtual dental billing assistants help practices all over the country keep their payments coming in while avoiding the expense of hiring in-house employees. If you’d like to know how a dental billing VA could help your office grow and thrive, schedule a call with us today.
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