Dental Front Desk Specialist – Patient Care & Admin Lead

Vocational Instruction Project; New York (NY); On-site; USD 25,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Vocational Instruction Project in New York seeks a Dental Front Desk Associate to manage daily administrative operations of the dental office, ensuring excellent patient service, efficient scheduling, accurate recordkeeping, and HIPAA-compliant front office workflow.

Responsibilities include greeting patients, verifying identity, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, updating demographics in ECW, checking insurance eligibility, collecting co-pays, and handling documents.

Qualifications

• Minimum two years of related administrative or front desk dental/medical experience.
• Knowledge of dental terminology and procedures preferred.
• Experience with dental software.
• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides exceptional customer service in person and on the phone to patients’ families, staff vendors, and the community.
• Continuously monitor the waiting room to ensure all patients are accounted for, properly checked in, and not left unattended or waiting without staff awareness.
• Verify patient identity at each visit using appropriate identifiers before check-in and service delivery.
• Ensure effective telephone and mail communication both internally and externally to maintain a professional image.
• Schedule, maintain, cancel, and reschedule all provider appointments, including no-shows and provider call-outs.Re-schedule all “No Show” appointments daily and conduct required appointment reminder outreach.
• Ensure all patients’ demographic and structured data is updated is accurately updated daily in eClinicalWorks (ECW).
• Verify insurance eligibility daily using ECW/E-PACES and update insurance status accordingly.
• Scan and upload patient insurance cards, IDs, referrals, labs, x-rays, and all patient-related documents into ECW promptly.
• Collect co-payments and outstanding balances, distribute MetroCards, and document transactions in accordance with VIP procedures.
• Coordinate and order office and clinical support supplies necessary for department operations.
• Email all residential counselors before 3 pm, and call residences/clients one to two days before scheduled appointments.
• Perform general office duties including filing, disseminating information, maintaining patient registrations, and organizing records per office procedures.
• Ensure confidentiality of all patient records in compliance with HIPAA, 42 CFR Part 2, and VIP policies.
• Serve as a liaison between dental providers, patients, staff, other VIP modalities, and external agencies.
• Maintain accurate documentation to support billing, reporting, quality improvement, and audit readiness.
• Attend all required staff meetings, annual in-services, and complete mandatory compliance, emergency preparedness, cultural competency, infection control, and HIPAA trainings.
• Additional duties as assigned by the Dental Director.

Skills

Behavioral health knowledge

Front desk administration

Communication skills

Bilingual English/Spanish

HIPAA compliance

Microsoft Office

Tools

ECW/E-PACES

Microsoft Office

Job description

Vocational Instruction Project in New York seeks a Dental Front Desk Associate to manage daily administrative operations of the dental office, ensuring excellent patient service, efficient scheduling, accurate recordkeeping, and HIPAA-compliant front office workflow.

Responsibilities include greeting patients, verifying identity, scheduling and rescheduling appointments, updating demographics in ECW, checking insurance eligibility, collecting co-pays, and handling documents.