2011 Symposium Failures II: A Road to Recoveryby Heather Bright

We all know employees can find ways to embezzle, but we really don’t expect it to happen to us. And we certainly don’t expect our credit card processing company to be the one to discover theft, but that’s ex-actly what happened in one SSC member’s office.

The loss prevention department at Heartland Payment Systems no-ticed some unusual activity by this particular office. None of the trans-actions were suspiciously large, but they contacted the office manager to inquire. The manager said the trans-actions were normal, but the Heart-land Payment Systems representa-tive still had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right so he contacted the owner of the practice. With this information, the doctor initiated an internal audit and discovered that his office manager had been em-bezzling funds from his account.

Many of us think of merchant card processing as a commodity to give to the lowest bidder. When I switched to Heartland a few years ago I saved on my credit card transactions and gained a valuable business partner that is obviously looking out for my best interest.

For more information on Heart-land Payment Systems contact Aaron Chan at 831.406.1616 or visit www.heartlandpaymentsystems.com/aaronchan.

UnexpectedAssistanceby Michael CohenNext year’s Symposium will be

held from January 17 – 22, 2011 at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, FL. There are still a few rooms left, but they are going fast. You can reserve yours by calling the Ritz directly at 800.241.3333.

Attendees will hear from many of dentistry’s greats; Gerard Chiche, Stephen Chu, Sillas Duarte, Da-vid Garber, Galip Gürel, Sascha Jovanovic, Sonia Leziy, Brahm Miller, Robert Margeas, Ricardo Mitrani, Nido Qubein, Ariel Rai-grodski, Avishai Sadan, Maurice Salama, Dennis Tarnow, John West and Homa Zadeh. There will also be a special appearance of Dr. Vince Kokich, Sr., with his son Dr. Vince Kokich, Jr.

Not only are we returning to a favorite location, but we are also

revisiting a favorite theme. Treat-

ment that falls short of expectation is often a subject that receives a su-perficial analysis, as few clinicians are truly prepared to deal with it. The focus of this meeting will be on how and why success has occa-sionally eluded even our most tal-ented clinicians despite their most gallant and creative efforts.

Our objective for this lecture and workshop-based program is to gain deeper insight into why failures in treatment occur and explore what lessons can be learned and the preventative measures that might be taken. Attendees will depart Key Biscayne with a better under-standing of the clinical, emotional and legal implications of failure and will more effectively negotiate the road to recovery following failures of their own.

See you there!

On July 15 & 16, 2011 we will bring the childhood excitement of Show & Tell to the grown-up world of Dentistry at the Ritz-

Carlton in beautiful Bachelor Gulch, Colorado. There will not be any lectures—this meeting is about sharing our cases on screen and problem solving these challenging

real-life situations. Together we will quickly get to the crux of these perplexing issues and uncover solutions that can im-

mediately be taken back to the practice and implemented. This is a great opportunity for collaboration and fun in an informal and

non-threatening environment. And of course, a la Seattle Study Club, it will also be a weekend of great food, entertainment and surprises that

you won’t want to miss. Rooms are already being reserved at the special SSC rate by calling 970.748.6200.

Save the Date for Show & Tell