THE ENLIGHTENED OFFICE

The faceless thieves among us

These employees look for opportunity. If they are motivated and can rationalize pilfering, look out.

By Cynthia Matossian, MD, FACS

I feel bad for our employees who enjoy flavored coffees, because they are no longer being provided at work; no more K-cups in the office kitchens. Now, everyone gets their basic coffee from a large drip-coffee urn, the kind you see at holiday parties.

We moved the bottles of omega-3 capsules, available for our patients, to a more secure yet out-of-the-way, location. I feel bad for our staff who now have to be inconvenienced each time a purchase is made by a patient at checkout.

Employees who lost what they wanted lost them for one reason: employee theft. We had an employee, maybe more, who was taking K-cups home. We had another — maybe the same person — who may have been smuggling out supplement bottles. That’s the thing with employee theft: You don’t usually know who is the culprit.

Some have taken money. But we have since learned how to keep that loss from happening.

That secret will come in a few paragraphs (I’d share it, even if the holiday season weren’t approaching).

THE PERFECT CRIMINAL CLIMATE

But first, a few gathered facts about employee larceny. A December 2013 article in Medical Economics about theft in medical practices cites three elements that, when they occur together, create the perfect embezzlement-commitment opening: motivation, rationalization, opportunity.

Motivation: “I could use those dry eye supplements or give them to my mom who suffers from dry eye.”

Rationalization: “She has three offices, she won’t miss them.”

Opportunity: “The open box containing the Latisse is hidden underneath the tech’s desk. I’ll keep pretending like I dropped something.”

Valuable, non-monetary items include Latisse, a lash-enhancing product, and Teoxane, a crow’s feet minimizing serum for around the eyes. They are small, more expensive and desirable. And then there are those who consider us Staples — they take pens, yellow highlighters, Scotch tape, copier paper, even desk scissors.

We have thought of installing an inventory system for our retail products. But most ophthalmic practices don’t have a barcode mechanism. It’s too expensive. You would have to barcode the entire inventory, although I am thinking about getting one for our drug supply.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

We did have losses at the front desk — $50 here, $200 there. While we thought we had a theft-prevention process in place, it wasn’t good enough. We found we needed more reconcilements throughout the day so we could tie any losses to the individual responsible for that time period.

Now, the person who opens the mail in the morning isn’t the same person who posts any mailed checks. Also, during the day, we settle after each shift — 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and then after our evening hours.

Employee theft never fails to amaze or make me crazy. You often don’t know who it is; it could be a favorite, longtime employee. For those of us who try to make our practices more like a family gathering with benefits, being victimized is difficult to wrap your head around. OM

Cynthia Matossian, MD, FACS, is the founder of Matossian Eye Associates. Her e-mail is cmatossian@matossianeye.com