You have a stack of insurance claims that are weeks past due, but you aren't sure which ones have been sent, which are pending, and which have been ignored by the carrier. Relying on memory or sticky notes leads to missed revenue and frustrated patients who receive unexpected bills because insurance never paid their portion. Using the open dental outstanding claims report is the most reliable way to maintain a healthy accounts receivable and ensure your office is paid for the work performed.
Before You Start
Before running your reports, ensure your daily insurance workflow is consistent. You must have your clearinghouse configured in Setup > Program Links > Clearinghouse to ensure claims are marked as "Sent" automatically. Additionally, verify that all insurance plans are correctly attached to the patient in the Family Module, and that claims are generated using the "New Claim" button in the Account Module immediately after procedures are completed. If your claims are not being marked as "Sent" or "Waiting to Send," your report data will be incomplete.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Follow these steps to generate and work through your insurance aging list:
- Navigate to the Manage Module (or the main menu bar) and select Reports > Standard.
- In the Standard Reports window, select the Monthly tab.
- Click on Outstanding Insurance Claims Report.
- In the report setup window, select your desired filters. It is recommended to filter by "Insurance Carrier" or "Date Range" to keep your list manageable. Ensure the "Status" filter includes "Sent" and "Waiting to Send."
- Click Submit Query to view the report.
- To investigate a specific claim, double-click the claim line item on the report. This opens the Edit Claim window.
- Review the Status History tab to see when the claim was last sent.
- If you need to follow up, use the Other Ins Info tab to verify the carrier's contact information or claim notes.
- If you receive an EOB or ERA, click the Receive Payment button. Use the By Procedure button to ensure payments are applied correctly to specific codes, then click OK to save.
Common Mistakes
- Ignoring the "Waiting to Send" status: If you run the report and see claims marked as "Waiting to Send," these have not actually left your office. If you don't click "Send" in the Send Claims window, the insurance company will never receive them, and the claim will sit in your system indefinitely.
- Applying payments incorrectly: If you click "Receive Payment" without using the By Procedure button, the payment might be applied to the entire claim balance rather than individual procedures. This makes it difficult to reconcile if the insurance company denies only one specific code later.
- Failing to update claim status: If a claim is denied, do not just delete it. Use the Edit Claim window to change the status to "Denied" or "Hold until Pri Received" so you have a record of the denial for your follow-up notes.
Related Scenarios
If you have procedures that were completed but never attached to a claim, you should run the to catch missed revenue. If you have payments that were entered but not fully attached to a claim, check the to ensure your financial records are balanced.
Track all your outstanding claims at a glance with DentalCanvas — a visual dashboard that shows your insurance aging, pending claims, and collection trends in real time.
This article is provided by opendentalsupport.com, an independent community resource. We are not affiliated with Open Dental Software, Inc.