Jan Keller

Could this 'real-life' scenario happen to you?

I was consulting with a practice that was "going live" with entering transactions and payments into the computer. We walked through the process of entering checks and sending statements to accounts with balances, but the office manager of 20+ years was having a difficult time adjusting to the changes. She liked her "paper" - haven't we all heard that before?

During lunch, the doctor and I discussed system security, reports, checking audit trails. He had a hard time setting up the security system because his "girls" had been with him for such a long time. During our discussion of monitoring and using reports, he noticed that not much money had been entered in the computer, payroll was coming due. After lunch, I asked the office manager - was she sure she did not have any more "mail" for us to enter?

After a few moments, she went to a drawer and took out a few envelopes with checks to be entered. We sent billing statements to the accounts with balances.

Patient receipts made out on napkins

A few months later, the doctor called, very upset. He said his "girl" of 20+ years had been embezzling money from him, although he had no clue how much.

He discovered it when patients began calling, upset to receive computerized billing statements showing balances when they had receipts written on paper napkins showing they had paid their bill. (The office manager would sit in the parking lot at lunch and have the patients meet her at her car to pay her because the "office was closed for lunch".)

Do you have checks and balances in place?

Unbelievable, but true. There are innumerable areas in the office where stealing and embezzlement can and does happen, from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Are you doing all that you can to protect yourself and your team? Using security systems in your practice management software is a good place to start, but it's just one step making your practice 'embezzlement proof'. 

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Lois Banta

1. Design systems and protocols for a good foundation of production and collections.

2. Hire and train for positive attitude and acquire great teams with a dedication towards customer service and effective communication.

3. Hold a "morning huddle" every day to check in on the pulse of the practice and address day to day concerns before they become major issues.

4. Strategize each week by holding team meetings.  Set a theme for each week of:

   a. Cross training

   b. Analyzing monthly numbers

   c. Continuing Education

   d. Role play - practice communication for patient questions.

5. Choreograph schedule for optimal productivity.

6. Get the money off the books and into the bank quickly.

7. Utilize excellent customer service...patient's impression of you begins on the phone.

8. Sharpen your clinical and practice management skills often by attending and participating in select continuing education.

9. Inspect what you expect.

10. Have more professional fun and find your "internal giggle".

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Debbie Castagna and Virginia Moore

If not, open up your calendar and do it now.  Re-scheduling patients because you neglected to plan for a vacation or the upcoming ADA meeting is frustrating and time-consuming.  Block out vacation days, continuing education meetings, holidays, special practice events, staff meetings, etc.  Some practices even block out one "normal" workday per month in the event of an unexpected illness or bad weather. You can open this day to regular scheduling two weeks prior, if you choose. This provides the Appointment Administrator with more flexibility when it's necessary to reschedule patients.  Doctors and staff members tell us that implementing this system gives them more time to pay attention to what is most important-their patients.

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