member – Beyond the Bite

Code of Ethics Spurs Public’s Decision in Choosing Dentists, Survey Says

by Florida Dental AssociationJuly 30, 2015May 31, 2017Leave a comment

By David Burger, Senior Editor at the American Dental Association

ADA member dentists are unique in that they have something that other dentists don’t: a Code of Ethics.

Patients like that, according to the results of a new study commissioned by the Association’s Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs. Nearly 70 percent of patients are more likely to choose an ADA member dentist knowing that those dentists follow a Code of Ethics, the study showed. The survey also showed that nearly 75 percent of patients said that simply knowing that a dentist was a member of the ADA would influence whom they selected as a dentist.

The ADA has long believed that the ADA’s “Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct” elevated dentists’ reputation in the community, but didn’t have proof, said Pennsylvania dentist Dr. Linda K. Himmelberger, chair of CEBJA. “We were hoping to find it was a differentiator for the public,” Dr. Himmelberger said. “That is what the survey pointed out.”

The May survey was conducted among a Census-balanced, nationally representative sample of 1,000 people, with a 3 percent margin of error. Respondents were asked to read a description of the ADA Code before responding to a final question.

The survey tested whether public knowledge of the ADA Code and its fundamental purpose of putting the interests of patients first would resonate with the public and might result in channeling patients to ADA member dentists. Members of the ADA voluntarily agree to abide by the ADA Code as a condition of membership in the Association.

“CEBJA wanted to know if the ADA Code would help us with ADA’s membership goals,” said Oklahoma dentist Dr. Doug Auld, vice chairman of CEBJA.

The findings included:

Sixty-seven percent of respondents knew if their dentists were members of the ADA.
Two in five consumers believed that ADA dentists hold themselves to a higher standard than other dentists. After learning about the Code, the number increased to 53 percent.
Patients aged 35-64 were more likely to be influenced by the Code when choosing a dentist, while people in the 18-24 age range were considerably less influenced by the Code.
If people believe they are already going to an ADA dentist, the Code will likely influence them to look even more strongly for another ADA member the next time they are in need of a dentist.

Some of the findings pleasantly surprised Dr. Himmelberger and Dr. Auld.

“What impressed me was that 69 percent of patients, knowing that we had a Code, were more likely to go to a member dentist,” Dr. Auld. “I didn’t think it would be that high. I was surprised.”

“The public does feel very strongly about their dentists being members of the ADA,” Dr. Himmelberger said. “Seventy-five percent is a big number.”

Dr. Himmelberger said that member dentists should promote the findings and share them. “There are ways they can work the Code and the fact that they are ADA members into their daily interactions with their patients to increase the patient’s awareness of the Code and how it guides the way their dentist treats them,” she said.

She recommended that dentists should print out the ADA Code and have copies of it in the waiting room. Dr. Auld said that members also should have the ADA Code posted conspicuously in the office.

They also recommended that members should either post the Code on their websites or post an existing video about the Code, available at ADA.org/en/about-the-ada/principles-of-ethics-code-of-professional-conduct, on their sites.

Printed copies of the Code are available upon request by contacting the coordinator of CEBJA, Earl Sewell, at 312.440.2499 or sewelle@ada.org.

The Code can be viewed at ADA.org.

Burger D. Code of Ethics spurs public’s decision in choosing dentists, survey says. ADA News. Posted July 15, 2015 at http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2015-archive/july/code-of-ethics-spurs-publics-decision-in-choosing-dentists-survey-says?nav=news. Copyright @ 2015 American Dental Association. Reproduced with permission.

5 Ways to Reduce Embezzlement Risk

by Florida Dental AssociationJuly 23, 2015May 31, 2017Leave a comment

By Julian Dozier, CPA, ABV, CFF, CFE, Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

You work hard in your practice, enjoy spending time with your patients, and do your best to manage your office staff and bookkeeping. While you’d rather be spending time on the medical side of your practice, you understand the importance of being involved in the business side of your practice. No one wants to think their employees would steal from their company, but every organization faces the risk. So, do you have a sound system of internal controls in place to mitigate the risk?

Here are five simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of employee embezzlement:

1. Conduct background checks. Your employees may have access to your financial information, bank accounts, prescription pads and expensive medical supplies. Be sure to conduct background checks before hiring any employee, and make it your policy to update those checks at least every two years for financial personnel.

2. Segregation of duties. Financial tasks should be assigned so that no single employee is responsible for authorizing transactions, maintaining custody of assets and resources, recording transactions and reconciling accounts. While it’s best for all four of those functions to be segregated, be sure no single employee is responsible for more than two of them. As an example, if an employee can authorize payments to vendors, they should not be authorized to add vendors to the accounting system, print and sign checks, or reconcile the bank account.

3. Oversight is important. The perception of detection can be as important as any other internal control your practice puts in place. If employees know their work is being checked, and that the bank accounts are being reconciled and verified, they are less likely to embezzle.

4. Know your bank account. For assets like cash that — when there are poor internal controls — can be embezzled quickly and easily concealed, you need to do more. Receive each monthly bank statement directly (unopened) and review it for unusual or unexpected activity. Ask questions. Know where your practice spends its money and who is authorizing those transactions. Quickly spotting unauthorized bank activity is critical to minimizing your risk of embezzlement.

5. Get outside help. Find a local certified public accountant (CPA) to conduct periodic checkups at your practice. Your CPA can help you design internal controls, implement best practices and conduct random checks to see that your employees are following approved policies and procedures.

Julian Dozier is a CPA with the accounting firm Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. He specializes in forensic audits and litigation support related to for-profit and governmental enterprises. His certifications and designations include Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF). For more information, please visit www.thf-cpa.com/what-we-do.

My Computer Has a Pop-up That Says it Has a Virus … What Do I Do Now?

by Florida Dental AssociationJuly 16, 2015May 31, 2017Leave a comment

By Larry Darnell, FDA Director of Information Systems

Every once in a while, you may get a pop-up on your screen claiming your computer has a virus and to remove it, you must call the number shown immediately. I have come across a number of people who will look at a pop-up like this on their computer and do one of two things:

Ignore it.
Do exactly as it says.

I am mystified that some may do as the pop-up says, but we have been conditioned to this type of behavior. The criminal element realizes that, so they craft malware. Malware, although technically not a virus, is software that pretends to be useful, but is in fact malicious — thus, the name. Most anti-virus programs are built to stop the bad viruses … not so much the malware.

Malware most often is installed because we choose to do it. It may come in the form of an extra toolbar on our browser, a coupon program or some other seemingly helpful software. We open the door and let it in, and then it takes over. I have known people to blindly call someone and give them access to their computer remotely and even their credit card information based on malware (or, as we call it “scareware” or “ransomware”)! I recommend you take the computer to a professional and get their opinion. If you opt to try and fix it yourself, a couple of programs that are helpful are Malwarebytes and HitmanPro; both can help eliminate your problem.

Please do not choose to ignore it. That will only make it worse, that much I can promise you.

4 Simple Ways to Give a Little Time and Make a Big Impact

by Florida Dental AssociationJuly 7, 2015May 31, 2017Leave a comment

By Dr. David L. Russell, Florida Dental Association Foundation President

On a daily basis, approximately 10,000 Florida dentists have a positive influence on the state’s health care, policies, education and people. In fact, it’s estimated that each of Florida’s dentists may donate as much as $30,000 in free care and treatment each year. Unfortunately, the public often is unaware of our profession’s generosity and policymakers don’t recognize the sacrifices we make to fill in the gaps in care for our patients.

In the early 1980s, the Florida Dental Association (FDA) Board of Trustees created an organization to lead a larger and more organized philanthropic effort for all individuals in the Sunshine State. Thirty-five years later, the FDA Foundation is the preeminent charitable organization for oral health in Florida. The Foundation organizes and supports philanthropic programs statewide that promote our profession and offer alternative opportunities for organized dentistry to speak on key issues while the FDA addresses them through advocacy.

Since its establishment, the FDA Foundation has sponsored a number of innovative programs and given professionals in our industry countless opportunities to volunteer their time. These include, but are not limited to, the Florida Mission of Mercy, Project: Dentists Care and Give Kids A Smile®. Additionally, the Foundation offers disaster grants and administers a scholarship program.

If you are interested in donating your time and expertise to treat those less fortunate in Florida, I suggest you look to one of the four programs shown below. Each offers dental professionals an opportunity to give back and make a big impact.

1. Florida Mission of Mercy
The Florida Mission of Mercy (FLA-MOM) event is a massive two-day dental clinic with a goal of treating as many as 3,000 patients. Approximately 500 dentists and hygienists, as well as 1,000 community service volunteers, donate their time and expertise to provide almost $2 million dollars in donated care. Starting in 2016, the FLA-MOM event will be held annually in a different location throughout the state.

2. Project: Dentists Care
Project: Dentists Care Inc. (PDC) consists of numerous organizations in Florida that offer a safety net of preventive and restorative dental care to those in greatest need. The Foundation provides grant funding to these organizations that provide oral health care to the underserved. Last year, PDC affiliates reported more than $11 million in donated dental care.

3. Donated Dental Services
Donated Dental Services (DDS) is a program jointly funded between the Foundation and Dental Lifeline Network Florida. DDS provides access to comprehensive dental care for people with disabilities or who are elderly or medically fragile and cannot afford treatment. Since its founding in 1997, 1,500 Floridians in need have received nearly $6 million in donated treatment through 400 generous Florida DDS volunteer dentists and 200 volunteer dental laboratories.

4. Give Kids A Smile®
Launched by the ADA and supported locally by the Foundation, Give Kids A Smile® (GKAS) is a month-long program that provides free, easily accessible dental services to local qualifying children. This program seeks to raise awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease, and to create public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care to solve this crisis.

These programs are funded by the FDA Foundation, which is largely funded by FDA-member dentists who make tax-deductible charitable contributions with their membership dues payments. We call these “sustaining membership” contributions and are critical to help us provide this important care.

I’d like to personally thank those of you who have contributed to the Foundation over the years through your sustaining membership dues. We understand you have choices about the organizations you support, and we appreciate the trust you’ve placed in us. We believe we are offering programs and services that address the causes you care about and reflect your values.

As you send in your membership dues, please be sure to include your $125 sustaining membership payment. Or, please take a moment to educate your office managers and accountants so that they include this payment when submitting on your behalf.

Thank you for your time and we hope you will continue to support the important work the Foundation is doing in Florida.