embezzlement

We recently found out that another client of ours has been embezzled. Yes, I said "another." Employees stealing from practices unfortunately happens way too often. Though not rare, even just hearing about it is jarring. I find it sticks with me for days, like a black cloud reminding me that people can be awful. Of course, the effect it has on us is trivial compared to the impact it has on the actual victims of this terrible abuse of trust. The point of this post is not to advise you on how to reduce your risk of embezzlement. (We can do that, so contact us if you want to learn more, or start with our short quiz on the subject. But this post is about the emotional impact of having been robbed and deceived by someone you trusted.) If you've discovered that someone you relied on stole from you, here are some things I would like you to know. It's not you, it's them.Becoming a victim of embezzlement has nothing to do with your intelligence. Read that again: being a victim of embezzlement has nothing to do with your intelligence. Too often, victims of embezzlement feel ashamed that it happened to them. But though embezzlers are often clever, the difference between you and them is more about worldview than intellect. In some cases, people who were once honest find ways to rationalize their first theft while working for you. In other cases, embezzlers are repeat offenders who treat their crime as a trade, moving from employer to employer to ply it. Either way, it's clear embezzlers have a completely different sense of what is right and wrong than you do. In all likelihood, you didn't suspect them because you'd never consider doing something like this yourself. It's wrong to blame the victim of any crime, even when the victim is yourself. The only person to blame is the perpetrator. But you can put your intelligence to work for you by learning how to avoid a recurrence. You'll need to look at the world in a different way, so that you

© Oleg Shelomentsev - Fotolia.com Most physician practice owners we work tell us they believe it is very unlikely that any employee would steal from them. But when you consider that an MGMA study found that 83% of members had worked in a practice where embezzling had occurred, it seems quite probable that some of those physicians will eventually employ a thief (or would-be thief) -- and that some don't realize they are being stolen from right now. Embezzling is easily missed by physicians and administrators for many reasons. One of the most common is that honest people, people who tend to respect protocols and rules, don't always consider the possibility that others don't share their boundaries. Physicians and practice managers who use a CPA to handle accounting and/or bookkeeping may assume those professionals can spot embezzlement, even though the tracks are almost certainly well-hidden in details that aren't part of a CPA's calculations (and usually aren't even accessible to them). The modern medical practice embezzler can also be an extremely creative thinker. We've worked with practices where the owners believed that embezzling couldn't happen in their practice because they don't accept cash or because the payroll and accounts payable aren't handled by any employee -- but physicians and administrators would be astounded (as we are) by the number of schemes that can tap into any flow of money in or out of the practice.  New schemes are also constantly being devised by clever, determined thieves. Of course, for physician owners, another huge obstacle is the fact that most of their time is focused on patient care. This leaves less time and less energy for business details. Doctors need to trust people to manage most administrative matters for them. Unfortunately, embezzlers take advantage of that trust, often presenting themselves as the most loyal, hard-working employees in the practice, cultivating a "halo" that helps them get away with their crimes. Administrators and practice managers, the most trusted individuals in the practice, are generally among the employees with the most opportunity to steal, if they are so inclined. In some

A staffer’s increased prosperity might be coming at your expense. Sudden and unexplained personal spending on the part of a staffer can be a warning sign that embezzlement may be taking place, but there’s another and sometimes even more damaging explanation that you should be concerned about – employee patient data theft. The theft of confidential and legally-protected patient data is on the rise and is already extremely widespread – millions of patient records have been compromised and the costs to the associated practices are many millions of dollars. Some schemes involve employees selling records as "leads" to unethical lawyers or others. Your controls over patient data are as important as your practice’s financial controls.  Every practice should have well-defined policies with respect to accessing patient data - e.g., inappropriate accessing of patient data is grounds for dismissal.  Practice administrators and physicians should periodically audit how many (and which) patient records employees access – ask your software vendors on how best to generate the necessary reports.  Any device that can be stolen, accessed remotely or have data copied from it is a potential vulnerability.  I recommend every practice conduct a thorough assessment of the risk of patient data theft every year.