Becker's Dental + DSO Review

6 BECKER'S DENTAL + DSO REVIEW - VOL. 4 OCTOBER 2020 DENTAL PROFESSIONALS 11 controls that reduce embezzlement in dental practices, per the CDA By Katie Adams E mbezzlement is the most common type of employee theft that occurs at dental practices, according to the California Dental Association. The American Dental Association released survey results in January that revealed nearly half of dental practices experience theft from staff members. The CDA shared 11 controls dentists can implement into their practices to protect against embezzlement: 1. Divvy up financial tasks among employees to reduce the likelihood of an employee manipulating account information. 2. Split up job functions for entering online payments, reviewing monthly bank statements and prepping for monthly bank reconciliations. Practices with multiple authorized signers should also separate the job functions of preparing and signing checks. 3. Dentists can request their bank mail statements be sent to their personal home or email addresses so they can regularly review them for inconsistencies or inappropriate accounts-payable names. 4. Store the dental practice's checks where only authorized employees can access them. 5. Require confirming documentation, such as credit card statement or vendor invoice, for every check signed in the dental practice. 6. Access the practice's accounts-payable history to review invoice data. 7. Give your bank specific instructions that contain a list of approved vendors and signers. 8. Keep an eye out for an increase in patient refunds, adjustments or bad debt write-offs, as well as discrepancies between patient statements and accounts receivable records. 9. Monitor patient complaints about their accounts, as they could stem from fraudulent activity or the need to create a policy clarifying account protocol. 10. Collaborate with a practice software specialist to ensure security controls are protecting your practice from employee theft. 11. Run audit reports on patient accounts to find any suspicious transactions where a payment is posted and then reversed after the deposit has been processed. n Rhode Island dentist has license suspended after some patients allege sexual assault By Gabrielle Masson J ohn Begg, DDS, allegedly sexually assaulted some of his pa- tients, according to NBC affiliate WJAR. The 85-year-old dentist was arrested Sept. 10 on a charge of second-degree sexual assault. A 68-year-old patient claims the dentist groped her during an Aug. 31 office visit at his Lincoln, R.I.- based dental practice. Detectives contacted Dr. Begg, who turned himself in. Following the arrest, police received additional complaints against Dr. Begg and charged him with two additional counts of sec- ond-degree sexual assault, according to the Providence Journal. Meanwhile, the Rhode Island Department of Health has suspend- ed Dr. Begg's license. n Majority of dentists would consider raising fees if patient volume does not improve, ADA poll finds By Katie Adams P atient volume at dental practices across the country is lev- eling off, but many dentists are still struggling financially, according to the American Dental Association Health Poli- cy Institute's latest poll. The poll, conducted the week of Sept. 21, found that dental practice staffing met 95 percent of pre-pandemic levels and pa- tient volume leveled off at 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels. These statistics have remained mostly unchanged during the last two months ADA has conducted the poll. Still, many dentists are looking for actionable ways to help them- selves recoup the revenue they lost during the pandemic's early months. The poll found that 45 percent of dentists have bor- rowed money from a bank during the pandemic. It also found that 30 percent have raised fees and 20 percent have reduced staff's hours at their practice since reopening amid the pandem- ic. When asked what actions they would consider taking to secure financial stability if patient volume remains at its current level, more than half said they would consider raising fees. About 33 percent said they would consider reducing staff hours, 25 per- cent said they would consider getting new suppliers or disen- rolling from dental benefits plans and about 8 percent said they would consider becoming a member of a DSO or larger group practice. n

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