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Dental Offices: How To Avoid Being A Target For Employee Theft!

Why dental offices are targets for employee theft

Dental offices are easy targets for unethical employees because of the opportunity and trust these employees are given. The main reasons why some dental office employees steal are the need for money, revenge and excitement.

If you carefully analyze most dental offices, it’s easy to see why so much theft occurs. There is a back office and a front office and they seem to work independently of each other, with minimal supervision. Additionally, the owners--the dentists--are way too busy to keep tabs on the finances and supplies. They are depending on and trusting their staff to do this. As a result some employees take full advantage if they think they can get away with identity theft, fraud and embezzlement.

Why pre-employment screenings are key to reducing employee theft

Dental offices are also easy targets of embezzlers due to the fact that most of the time dental offices do not conduct reference checks. This may be due to the fact that many dental offices are small businesses operating without a human resources department. This may the best reason to hire the services of a pre-employment background-screening firm such as Accu-Screen, Inc. Hiring a professional and experienced employee background firm can help prevent the following scenarios:

• A Miami-Dade County dental assistant was arrested for defrauding the state Medicaid program out of more than $50,000. The dental assistant worked at a Miami dental facility as the office’s Medicaid biller and fraudulently submitted numerous claims for services that were never provided.
  
• A dental assistant was overcharging patients by creating two bills--a legitimate one and another patients weren’t aware of. The second transaction acted as a customer credit and was deposited with Household Bank or Bank One.
• In Queensbury a 33-year-old Fort Ann woman was arrested on a charge that she stole more than $8,000 from the dental office where she was employed. She was accused of taking cash that was paid by patients for dental services and altering billing information in the computer to cover the theft.
• Dental office assistant--formerly employed by Blandon Dental--was arrested for allegedly using patient’s personal information to commit identity theft, fraud and grand theft. The 21-year old allegedly used private information to open lines of credit at stores such as Target and shopped online during her time of employment. She had the merchandise delivered to her home address, which enabled authorities to find her.

How To Avoid Becoming A Target For Employee Theft

Dentists should assure that all employees go through an employment background screening. It is very effective in uncovering employee theft or other poor working habits shown at a previous employer. It will also help deter applicants that may have something to hide in their background.

When choosing a pre-employment background-screening firm, it is important that the firm have experience and the resources to provide accurate, up to date information. With 14 years of experience conducting pre-employment background and criminal records screenings, Accu-Screen, Inc. can produce the most accurate, factual information to help a company hire safe, qualified candidates. Visit the Accu-Screen, Inc. website today at www.accuscreen.com or call 800-689-ACCU (2228) to get more information on how to protect your dental business against employee theft.