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“Dentists can be shortsighted when looking at training versus production time,” Mattson said. “They think they can’t afford to take time off from seeing patients to learn.”

“Most dentists spend a significant amount of time training their staff to become proficient, even experts, in utilizing practice management software,” Roberts agreed. “That’s a key to efficiency. However, when the office staff knows the intricacies of practice management software and the dentist is indifferent, the risk of embezzlement increases significantly.”

Most of the major practice management systems available today have a variety of audit lists the dentist/employer needs to master and resources for both initial and ongoing training. PracticeWorks, exclusive maker of Kodak Dental Systems (kodakdental.com), offers a “Dentists Only” training course to bring doctors up to speed on the necessary functions of their software. HSPS offers extensive instruction for users of DENTRIX and Easy Dental (easydental.com), as does Patterson Dental for practices running EagleSoft (eaglesoft.net), the company’s practice management software. These courses should not be considered optional; a simple class can mean the difference between deterrence and victimization, between paranoid boss and proactive employer.

Traditional paper files may be what you’re used to, but they don’t provide the necessary leg up in the embezzlement battle.

“There are two key benefits to [practice management software]: prevention and evidence,” Roberts said. “When software is utilized properly, the systems associated with receivables management can be restricted to obviate the need to produce evidence of embezzlement later. When fraud is suspected, practice management software will quickly produce evidence of impropriety. Records cannot be manipulated without an evidence trail of the transactions in question being either edited or deleted.”

The dialogue with your staff

While the right software can prevent dentists from being paranoid, the onset of new oversights can be a difficult transition for the staff, even if everything is as it should be. Mattson suggests pinning it on the accountant to ensure the entire office team is on board.

“You can simply say that, ‘My accountant says I need to take more interest in how my business is run and she wants me to look at these reports,’ ” Mattson explained. “You can then hand the staff a list of the reports you plan to run.”
Roberts suggests helping employees take a larger perspective on security and its importance in the practice.

“Security goes beyond employees. What about cleaning crews, patients, maintenance people and others who

walk in and out of your doors everyday? Security safeguards, passwords, reporting and checks and balances when properly used help safeguard your business and your patients’ data,” he said. “As a business owner, you have a responsibility to your patients to ensure you do everything feasible to protect their data. This crucial conversation with your office manager or staff is not about a particular person—it is about sound business practices.”

The bottom line

There are some obvious benefits to practice management software you hear again and again: electronic charting, efficient scheduling and follow-up, math errors are eliminated and electronic records mean you never misplace a chart again. But now more than ever, this type of software is critical to helping doctors in large and small practices keep track of their books without the headache of becoming a super sleuth. More importantly, one or two simple reports mean you don’t lose your most valuable asset: your staff. 

	(Clockwise from top) These screen captures show examples of some of the DENTRIX functions most helpful in spotting embezzlement, including the Audit Trail Report, and password security screens.

Thais Carter is Editor-in-Chief of Dental Products Report. Contact her at tcarter@advanstar.com.

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