Hi-Tech-Consulting

“Know Signs of Embezzlement Before Your Cash Vanishes”
American Medical News (03/19/07) ; Schechter, Karen S.

While cases of embezzlement are not common, experts insist that physician practice owners should have controls in place and regularly monitor staff to discourage such criminal behavior. Rather than chalk monetary losses up to lower reimbursements or a poor-performing billing department, practice owners should launch investigations of accounts receivable, accounts payable, monthly expenses, co-pay deposits, and gross collection and adjustment rates in search of inconsistencies. They should pay close attention when patients insist they have already paid a particular bill but continue to receive statements, accountants report incomplete records, or vendors insist payments are late when timely payments are listed in the books. Embezzlement can take various forms, from keeping co-payments to forgery using the doctor’s signature stamp. Practice owners can reduce the likelihood of fraud through such things as limiting access to the company credit card, forwarding bank statements to their homes, and keeping their signature stamps in their possession at all times. They would also be wise to ensure that no one staff member is responsible for both cash management and billing and mandate that employees take three or more vacation days at once to make it easier to detect the source of misappropriations.
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“Getting Them Out Alive”
Risk & Insurance (03/07) Vol. 18, No. 3, P. 27 ; Nolan, Harry

In response to Sept. 11, 2001, local communities, companies, and governments are preparing evacuation plans for extreme crises, as well as for routine events like power outages and fire drills. The first step is to add a comprehensive evacuation plan to the building’s current fire-safety plan. The plan, which should delineate a chain of command and provide building personnel with proper training, should be distributed to the building’s occupants and reviewed by emergency responders. Next, designate and equip a command post with essentials, such as phone numbers and keys, in the building lobby. Create and coach an early-stage response team in assisting the evacuation. Provide building occupants with regular safety training and information, such as fire protocol and assigned assembly points, either through pamphlets, an intranet, or other means. Finally, buildings should run evacuation drills–especially for full-building, nonfire-related emergencies–and designated personnel should be present inside the building monitoring evacuating tenants for any medical or assistance needs. Report the drill’s results–duration, execution, and vulnerabilities–to local emergency professionals, and make sure to review and update all procedures on a regular basis.
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“Danger Signs”
Asbury Park Press (NJ) (03/05/07) ; Knight, Dana

Workplace-violence offenders almost always give off warning signs that they are capable of explosive violence, and such offenders are typically below the age of 40, have poor social skills, do not react well to criticism, and are often the victims of teasing. They may swear under their breath, talk about how they would like to beat up a co-worker, or have violent reactions to small incidents. Workplace violence expert Paul Viollis, president of Risk Control Strategies, says that workplace violence is preventable, and he advises workers to report warning signs to management. “One of the things about the workplace-violence offender is that they are very consistent,” he says. “To someone who doesn’t have an educated eye, it’s next to impossible to diagnose.” But those warning signs become very clear once employees are educated about them, Viollis says. Thus, employees should receive ongoing training to spot these warning signs, and employers should install a confidential process that allows employees to report incidents. At JPMorgan Chase, the company’s policies not only address appropriate workplace behavior, they provide a list of warning signs to be on the lookout for and prohibit employees from having weapons.
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“Successful CCTV Design Requires Careful Planning”
Video Surveillance (02/01/2007) P. S-16 ; Jew, Rebecca; LeClair, Dan

A CCTV system is an integral part of an effective security program, but thoughtful planning must go into the implementation of the CCTV system or the system will fail to reach its potential. To that end, the goals and objectives of the overall security project should be established, and the objectives should account for any regulatory requirements for the business implementing the security project. The CCTV system should be designed to fit the expected use of the video, meaning that a host of factors pertaining to the camera itself need to be considered, including the desired camera view, the ambient light level of the area to be monitored, the area’s environmental conditions, and the level of detail needed in the view. Other areas to consider include the viewing monitor, video storage, video transmission, expansion of the CCTV system, and maintenance of the system. In general, the common uses of CCTV systems fall under the categories of monitoring, incident response, investigation, remote release, and the like, but they are applied in different ways depending upon the business sector that is using them. For example, the manufacturing sector typically uses CCTV for monitoring dock areas and inventory storage while the transportation sector uses CCTV for monitoring public lobbies and parking lots, and the education sector uses CCTV for monitoring public entrance and bus loading areas.
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“Crime Fighting Potential for Computerized Lip-Reading”
University of East Anglia (02/21/07)

University of East Anglia researchers will begin a project next month that seeks to create a program that can read lips, possibly for use in law enforcement. Although nearly everyone has some ability to read lips, little is known as to the amount of visual information that is needed for the process. The Surrey University Center for Vision, Speech, and Signal Processing has created accurate face and lip trackers, and will collaborate on the project; so will the Home Office Scientific Development Branch, which plans to use the technology for fighting crime. “To be effective the systems must accurately track the head over a variety of poses, extract numbers, or features, that describe the lips and then learn what features correspond to what text,” explains UEA project leader Dr. Richard Harvey. After collecting data for lip-reading, the goal will be to create a system that can turn video of lip motion into text. “This project will also investigate how to use the extensive information known about audio speech to recognize visual speech,” says Richards. The number of trained lip readers is currently decreasing as the use of sign language is increasing.
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