Three Continuing Education Topics for Dental Office Manager Training

Whether you have recently been promoted, you are new to management, or you are making a career transition from another type of management, dental practice management requires you to develop a unique and varied skill set. Even if you are a veteran, continuing education and dental office manager training is essential for success.

At Dental Practice Enhancement, we offer customized and effective administrative training. We will assess your practice to determine areas that may need improvement, including areas where you may benefit from further education. Building on your strengths, we can help you to develop a more streamlined and effective practice.

Read on for some top suggestions for continuing education. Then contact us for more information or to schedule a coaching session.

1. Accounts Receivable

A healthy accounts receivable balance is key to a thriving practice. Accounts receivable are considered a liquid asset, but an excessive balance can cost your practice. Just think about the rising costs of inflation (9.1% between June 2021 and June 2022) and the depreciation of accounts.

Unfortunately, excessive AR is often due to undertrained dental staff. Among other things, an accounts receivable course will teach office managers:

Exactly how accounts receivable work and how they are different from accounts payable
How to establish an AR system for your practice
How to communicate with patients and collect on overdue accounts

2. Insurance Claims and Billing

A dental office manager will need to file claims and then communicate with the insurance company to follow up. He or she will also need to answer patient questions and assist them should problems arise with their claims.

Continuing education courses in insurance claims will:

Give managers a basic understanding of how claims work
Familiarize staff with the structure of PPO plans
Explain contractual clauses and claims policies
Update managers on relevant billing and coding

Of course, managers have a tremendous amount on their plates, which is why many practices choose to outsource their billing. Dental Practice Enhancement provides experienced virtual administrator services so that managers can focus on the interpersonal needs of patients and office team.

3. HIPAA Guidelines

Though they seem straightforward, HIPAA guidelines can be remarkably complex. In general, dental offices are required to adhere to three sets of rules:

The HIPAA Privacy Rule
The HIPAA Security Rule
The Breach Notification Rule

But these rules can be confusing for patients, as well as for practices. In fact, 65% of complaints from the public are dismissed as ineligible. Nonetheless, 100,000 claims have been upheld. And if a dental office is found guilty, it can cost the practice hundreds of thousands of dollars.

For this reason, it is essential that dental office manager training include thorough and repeat courses in HIPAA compliance.

Contact DPE for Outstanding Dental Office Manager Training

Dental Practice Enhancement can identify the areas where you or your team may benefit from additional education. And of course, we also offer our own training in dental administration.