DC Won't Renew Chartered Health Plan Contract

By Mike DeBonis, Published: October 15

The District is moving to end its relationship with the health-care company owned by embattled campaign financier Jeffrey E. Thompson after auditors discovered significant financial irregularities in its books.  Read more

The following is a re-post from a blog written by Larry Goldberg - "Accountodontist" at Glass Jacobson.

Last blog I discussed the highly informative DVD by Gordon Christensen titled “Protecting Your Dental Office From Embezzlement & Fraud”.   I mentioned many, but not nearly all, of the things you as a dentist could do to prevent one of your employees from embezzling your hard earned money.

This blog looks at some of the characteristics of the employee who might be stealing right under your nose.  Dr. Christensen mentions going with your gut feeling.  If you suspect someone is up to something dishonest you may want to follow up on your suspicion.

Some of the more general identifying characteristics such as you, the dentist, working as hard as ever and cash deposits that have declined may be hard to differentiate as stealing or a drop off in business due to the current economic climate.  Others such as a large number of adjustments showing up in your dental software merit close inspection.

As Dr. Christensen mentions, many of the characteristics that make a good employee are some of the same characteristics that are the earmark of the employee who’s taking you to the bank so to speak.  Here are just a few.

• Employee wants additional hours
• Employee wants to work alone and will not delegate tasks
• Employee is very loyal
• Employee resents your lifestyle or apparent income
• Employee works late or comes in early
• Employee takes work home
• Employee refuses to take vacation
• Employee with lots of discretionary income.  Get suspicious if your single employee making $25,000 per year is driving a brand new Mercedes and has a five bedroom house with a pool and tennis court and does not have a large trust fund.
• Employee is a long-term employee.  Why would they want to leave your dental practice since you are their personal ATM machine?
• Employee does not want overtime

So what are you supposed to do now?  Do you instantly start suspecting each and every one of your employees of being a clandestine thief?  Of course not!  However, armed with the information from this and the previous accountadontist blog you should realize that you cannot just be a passive observer in your dental practice.  You need to get involved in many of the business aspects of your dental practice that you previously ignored.  YOUR money is at stake!

If you suspect fraud in your practice, or want to set up preventative measures, contact us.  Glass Jacobson’s fraud prevention team can help.

Questions for the Accountodontist?

larry.goldberg@glassjacobson.com

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The Dentrix Business of Dentistry Conference is the must-attend event of the year for dental professionals looking to improve the productivity and profitability of their practices. For three days, you’ll have the opportunity to choose from more than 40 sessions, including new clinical courses, to learn from leading Dentrix and industry experts and exchange best practices with more than 1,000 peers and colleagues. Every member of your team who attends will gain critical new Dentrix skills, actionable insights into running a more profitable and productive practice, and great ideas for receiving even more value from your Dentrix investment.

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Join Us for the 8th Annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger

 

Join the D-TECH Team, So Others Might Eat(SOME), Honorary Chair Mayor Adrian Fenty and thousands of caring community members for the 8th Annual Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger on Thursday, November 26! A District tradition, the Trot for Hunger is a terrific event for individuals, families, companies, faith communities and other organizations who want to help the hungry and homeless on Thanksgiving morning.  SOME provides dental services to the homeless, uninsured, and under-insured population in NW Washington, DC.

Where? Along the river in West Potomac Park in Washington, DC. The start and finish line are located on Ohio Drive, SW between Independence Avenue, SW and West Basin Drive, SW. Trot for Hunger course information.

When? The Trot for Hunger will feature a timed 5K run and a 5K fun walk with staggered start times:

8:30 am Timed 5K Run

8:40 am 5K Fun Walk (not timed)

How? Registration is $23 per person from July 15 - November 16 and $25 per person from November 17 - November 21. You may register as an individual or form or join a team.

We also encourage you to invite your friends and family members to sponsor your run or walk. In recognition of your support of the homeless and poor, we are pleased to offer Trot for Hunger fundraising prizes for both teams and individuals.

Why? It's fun! Plus, your participation in the Trot for Hunger will help SOME to continue to provide hot, nutritious meals, clothing, medical care and other essentials to the increasing number of homeless and hungry children, women and men who are coming to us for help.

Questions or comments? Please contact Tracy Monson at trotforhunger@some.org or 202.797.8806 ext. 1093.

Thank you for trotting!