This archive collects five issues of the Prosperident Pulse newsletter from June 2021 through October 2021. Use the table of contents below to jump to any issue.
Issues in this archive
June 2021
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Did you know that Prosperident puts on a free webinar every month?
The theme for our Spring webinars is How to Outsmart Embezzlers.
Our next webinar takes place on June 24 at 8:00 pm Eastern / 5:00 Pacific, titled Slam the Door Shut on Embezzlers.
Free registration is available HERE, and PACE CE is offered. |
We'd love to speak at your event!
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We are excited to be back to live speaking.
We have great titles like "How to Outsmart the Thief in Your Practice."
If you would like to book a speaker for your event, please give us a call or use THIS LINK.
Here are some of the places you can see us soon:
May 27
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Canadian Association of Orthodontists
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Webinar
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| Jun 11 |
Atlantic Virtual Dental Conference |
Halifax NS |
| Sep 9 |
Smile Source Exchange |
Las Vegas NV |
| Sep 16 |
Seattle Study Club |
Austin TX |
| Sep 25 |
Canadian Association of Dental Consultants |
Toronto ON |
| Oct 19 |
Compre-hensive Care Club |
Port Huron MI |
| 2022 |
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| Feb 26 |
Chicago Midwinter Meeting |
Chicago IL |
| Mar 8 |
Dr. Graham Jones Study Club |
Monroe WA |
| May 6 |
Ontario Dental Association |
Toronto ON |
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Did you miss a previous newsletter?
We archive them HERE.
All of us at Prosperident (including our CEO who is a veteran) wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend, and we thank all veterans for their service.
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Why Virtual Credit Cards are a Bad Idea |
Some insurance companies make payments to practices by creating a
virtual credit card with a credit balance and then providing the card
number. The practice can then enter the credit card number into their
merchant terminal and receive payment.
Many dentists have reported that this arrangement was put in place
without their consent and that opting out was not presented to them as
an option. Insurance companies favor this arrangement because it is more efficient than issuing checks or arranging ACH payments.
There are several disadvantages to allowing an insurance company to pay
you in this way.
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Something to Talk About... |
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I did my first dental embezzlement investigation in 1989.
Dentistry was much simpler then. The practice that I investigated worked on "pegboard" because practice management software was still years from being available. The practice did not accept credit cards - payment was by cash or check, and
electronic funds transfers did not exist.
HIPAA was seven years away from becoming law, and OSHA was just beginning to turn its attention to dentistry. PPO was a term that dentists were hearing for the first time, and autoclaves were replacing boiling water for sterilization.
A lot has changed since 1989. Dentistry is safer, more comfortable, and more convenient for patients. The profession's ability to deliver natural-looking restorations and even improve someone's appearance has advanced beyond what most would have dreamed in 1989.
But paralleling these advances were increases in complexity in all the areas that I mentioned. And many dentists, for whom the ownership of a practice was already an unwelcome burden, have become overwhelmed with the duality of generating high-volume, high-quality clinical output while also managing a complex business entity.
From the unique perch from which I observe dentistry, I see some dentists who thrive in this stressful environment and others who become overwhelmed.
What can an overburdened dentist do to make their professional life manageable? Fortunately, there are some good options.
Our webinar series, which began over a year ago, tackles issues that many dentists find vexing, demystifies them, and provides guidance on navigating these areas. You can access all our past webinars HERE.
For
those dentists with an intense dislike for being business owners, affiliating with a
DSO may provide the ability to be a "pure dentist" and completely
offload business responsibilities,in a financially rewarding manner.
Finally, if you want some personalized help with taming the business elements of your practice, we are happy to assist. I am happy to speak with any practice owner who wants to discuss their options for making practice ownership less onerous. If this is a discussion you are interested in, please book a time HERE.
For the past 32 years, we have been on your "team" and invested in your success. If we can help you, please feel free to reach out.
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July 2021
Want to receive our newsletter every month? Click HERE to subscribe.
Did you know that Prosperident puts on a free webinar every month?
Our next webinar takes place on July 22 at 8:00 pm Eastern / 5:00 Pacific, titled External Threats to Your Practice. We are going to deal with issues like identity theft and medication scams.
Free registration is available HERE, and PACE CE is offered.
Want to check out past webinars? Click HERE. |
Want to Liven Up Your Speaking Event?
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We are so excited to be back to live speaking.
We have great titles like "How to Outsmart the Thief in Your Practice."
If you would like to book a speaker for your event, please give us a call or use THIS LINK.
Here are some of the places you can see us soon:
| Aug 21 |
Kentucky Society of OMS |
Louisville KY |
| Sep 9 |
Smile Source Exchange |
Las Vegas NV |
| Sep 16 |
Seattle Study Club |
Austin TX |
| Sep 25 |
Canadian Association of Dental Consultants |
Toronto ON |
| Oct 15 |
Get Stress Free Dentistry Summit |
Hollywood FL |
| Oct 19 |
Compre-hensive Care Club |
Port Huron MI |
| 2022 |
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| Feb 26 |
Chicago Midwinter Meeting |
Chicago IL |
| Mar 8 |
Dr. Graham Jones Study Club |
Monroe WA |
| Mar 10-11 |
Pacific Dental Conference |
Vancouver BC |
| May 6 |
Ontario Dental Association |
Toronto ON |
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Did you miss a previous newsletter?
We archive them HERE.
All of us at Prosperident wish everyone a happy 4th of July holiday.
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Avoid The Worst Hiring Mistake of Your Life |
Much has been written about hiring the right people for dentists. Finding a good personality fit and ensuring that employees properly project your office’s personality are topics I will leave to others. My expertise lies in helping you avoid the biggest hiring mistake of your life.
Published studies suggest that over 60% of resumes contain some form of lying. This might be as basic as some form of skills enhancement, or it could extend to covering up that the applicant was fired from a previous job for stealing.
Let’s start by profiling typical embezzlers. They are smart, organized,
and have strong computer skills. They present well in interviews, convey an understanding of the preciousness of your time, and commit to
creating an environment where that time can be used most effectively.
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The View from the CEO's Chair
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Serial Embezzlers
We have all heard the stories. Someone gets caught embezzling,
gets fired by the practice owner, and almost immediately is working
across town, or across the street, with predictable results.
And we shrug our shoulders and wonder how this could happen. And yet it does -- probably 20% of our investigations involve someone with "baggage.", and we have many situations where we have investigated the same thief more than once. We've seen a spate of serial embezzlers in the past six months, which prompted us to update the hiring article directly above my column.
One energetic embezzler has victimized more than 15 practices. She and I are on a first-name basis - I call her "thief," and I won't repeat what she calls me. You can read about her and other serial embezzlers in our Hall of Shame HERE.
Notwithstanding the vulnerable populations, protected information and, yes, money, that pass through dental practices, the sad truth is that owners know far less about people they hire than they should. And the consequences can be devastating.
It's easy to fix this. What is required is a bit of enlightenment and the resolve to investigate properly before hiring. We did a great webinar on this topic last year; it's available HERE.
There are excellent people out there who would love to have a job in a great dental practice. Let's keep the others out!
If you have concerns about someone working in your practice, or would like to lessen your vulnerability to embezzlement, I'd love to speak with you. You can book a time using THIS LINK.
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