See Computer Security.

Embezzlement is a serious problem that affects many dental offices, however, it is preventable. Here are some tools in Open Dental to help. This is not a comprehensive list. Offices may use this as a starting guide but must ensure they have their own prevention and policies in place.

Security Permissions and Users.
Each staff member should have their own User login with Permissions specific to their responsibilities. Ensure only the office admin (e.g., owner) has the "Security Admin" Permission. By having each staff member log in under their own user, actions, and edits can be accurately tracked in the Audit Trail.

Lock Dates
Set a Global Lock Date that applies to all users (this can exclude admin users) to prevent users from backdating new items or editing historic data. See the Permissions page for a list of permissions affected by global lock dates. Lock Dates can also be set for individual user groups and permissions.

Audit Trail
Routinely review the Audit Trail and question activity that may not make sense.

Backups
In addition to disaster recovery, Backups can be useful to compare historical data. If a concern arises, you can run a financial report for a previous date range, and compare it to the same report on the backup. There should be no change.

Reports
Routinely review financial Reports. Do any payments appear to be missing? Were adjustments added unnecessarily? Are write-offs accurate?

Save EOBs
Require that each claim has an EOB attached. This is also beneficial should the patient have questions about their account. See Scan EOB.

Statements and Receipts When line items on an account are altered, past statements don't change. Saving statements ensures a paper trail of account history. Require staff to give a receipt for every cash payment. Statements and receipts can be automatically saved to the Imaging Module for additional security.

Deposit Slips
Have multiple staff involved in critical financial functions like making deposits. Deposit Slips create a digital copy of the list of cash and checks deposited, so if there are anomalies, you can easily compare the deposit slip created in Open Dental with what was deposited in the bank.