The Prosperident Pulse #139 Feb 2024 - Information you can use in your practice

The "Orthodontic Oracle"

Wendy Askins is our resident expert on embezzlement in orthodontic practices. As our longest-serving Supervising Examiner, she handles some of our, shall we say, most interesting cases. Her work recently resulted in an orthodontist and his wife being indicted on federal charges for theft at the practice where they worked. Read about it HERE.

We would love to liven up your event with something different and interesting.

To find out more or book a Prosperident speaker for your society or study club click THIS LINK.

Mar 20	Macomb and Oakland Dental Societies	Troy MI
Mar 21	Nu Image Advance Dental Seminar	Apex NC
Apr 12	Holistic Dental Association	Herndon VA
Apr 19	Michigan Dental Association	Lansing MI
Apr 26	Sailfish Study Club	Stuart FL
May 3	American Association of Orthodontists	New Orleans LA
Jul 26	Star of the South Meeting	Houston TX
Aug 24	South Carolina Dental Association	Greenville SC
Sep 11	American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons	Orlando FL
Oct 3	Piedmont Comprehensive Dental Seminar s	Shelby NC
Dec 3	Greater NY Dental Meeting	New York NY

Sometimes we take things for granted. At Prosperident, we probably assume that someone who is at risk of being embezzled is aware of the risk they face. Rather than assuming that, let's be explicit about some of the risk factors.

There are two things you can look at to determine if your practice is at risk for embezzlement. If embezzlement is taking place some of the clues are financial ones, and others are behavioral. Statistically, 67% of embezzlement is detected from behavioral factors, which are often easier to spot, but we shouldn't neglect financial issues either.

We have recently updated a page on our prosperident.com website that presents the various risk factors.

I've heard it said that the true competitor of a dentist isn't the practice down the street; it's the Disneyland vacation or the new kitchen wanted by the patient that you are actually competing against.

For us it's a bit different. While there are several companies that provide some of the services that we do for dentists, immodestly, I can claim that we stand out from the competition by being the largest, longest established and having the broadest capablility.

In contrast to your practice, our biggest competitors are named Complacency ("my staff would never steal from me") and Apathy ("this problem will solve itself if I just ignore it.")

What you can't ignore are the probabilities. According to the American Dental Association, almost half of dentists have already been embezzled, with a decent proportion of the rest likely to be in the future.

Clearly, complacency and apathy are deficient as strategies. As a good start in moving beyond these failed approaches, check out the article above on assessing your risk.

Want to talk to me about how to reduce the embezzlement risk in your practice? Click HERE.