Were You Affected By The Equifax Hack?

You may have never used Equifax yourself -- or even heard of it -- but the credit reporting agency could still have a treasure trove of your personal information.

Equifax said that 143 million people could be affected by a recent data breach in which cybercriminals stole information including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and the numbers of some driver’s licenses.

Additionally, credit card numbers for about 209,000 people were exposed, as was “personal identifying information” on roughly 182,000 customers involved in credit report disputes.

Equifax is one of three nationwide credit-reporting companies that track and rate the financial history of U.S. consumers. It gets its data -- without you even knowing -- from credit card companies, banks, retailers, and lenders.

Equifax will not be contacting everyone who was affected, but will send direct mail notices to those whose credit card numbers or dispute records were accessed.

Go to www.equifaxsecurity2017.com and click on the Check Potential Impact tab. You must submit your last name and last six digits of your Social Security number there.

At that point you’ll receive a message telling you whether you’ve been impacted by the hack.

September 11, 2017By Katie Lobosco http://money.cnn.com/

Imagine, for a minute, that you’re the owner of a scrappy, promising new dental practice. In the beginning, it was just you and two other employees performing cleanings out of a 12-by-12-foot office, but times are picking up and the practice is heading into the uncharted waters of rapid growth.

As the practice moves into the public eye — and, in turn, the hungry eyes of potential hackers — it’s become obvious that you’re going to need to lock down your data. At this critical stage, a cyber-attack could mean the death of everything you and your team have built.

But the budget is looking lean. Everything you’ve done so far has been by the skin of your teeth, so why should security be any different? You put one of your more tech-savvy employees on the case, tasking him with finding the cheapest cyber security solutions available. Sure, he may not be an expert, but

he understands computers. What could go wrong?

He scours the web, perusing dozens of “Top 5 Cheap Firewall Software” articles, and, with the help of a scrappy how-to guide, installs what seems to be the best of the lot on your servers and across all your computers. The entire process takes 10 hours, and costs the office next to nothing.

Potential crisis averted, you turn your attention to other matters. We’ll revisit our cyber security later, you think, once we have a little more financial wiggle room.

Across the following year, the practice’s success skyrockets. The phone is ringing off the hook, new patients are flooding in and your profit margin is exploding. Your practice is the envy of all your peers.

That is, until the day that you get hacked.

“As a dentist, you don’t have time to waste on technical and operational issues. That’s where we shine! Call

us and put an end to your IT problems finally and forever.”

Fred SagesterFounder and CEO

October 2017

You’re Better Off Giving Your Employees A $1,000 Bonus Than

Being Cheap With Technology

One morning, an advanced strain of ransomware easily sidesteps your free antivirus and starts wreaking havoc. It slithers through your systems and locks you out of everything, from patient data to basic Word documents, and encrypts it behind a paywall, demanding $50,000 in Bitcoin or you’ll lose access to all of it — forever.

You couldn’t make room in your budget for a robust cyber security solution. Well, how does that $50K ransom strike you?

This may sound like nothing more than a horror story, but in reality, this happens to practice owners all over the world each and every day. An IBM security study from last December discovered that over half of businesses surveyed had paid over $10,000 in ransomware payoffs, with 20% paying over $40,000. And that’s not even including the millions of dollars of damage caused by other forms of malicious software every year.

The fact is, when your time, money and practice are on the line, it simply doesn’t pay to be cheap when choosing your cyber security technology.

Think of it this way. Say, with your free antivirus, you’re “saving” $100 a month. Lo and behold, a virus manages to punch its way through and causes chaos throughout the company server. Even if you’re lucky and it isn’t ransomware, by the time you’ve managed

to expunge the stubborn virus from your practice, you’ll have put in countless man-hours, guaranteed to cost you more than that $100 a month. Instead of throwing those thousands of dollars down the drain, you’d be better off giving each of your employees a $1,000 bonus!

Free antivirus software, giveaway cyber-protection, or a $5 firewall seems like a great idea, until a hacker cuts through your company’s defenses like a warm knife through butter. These guys love when they see these outdated, cheapo barriers guarding your priceless data — those are the paper-thin defenses that keep hackers in business.

You wouldn’t buy a rusty, secondhand old lock for your house, so why are you installing primitive cyber security software to protect your most precious resources?

In today’s world of rampant cybercrime, it’s inevitable that somebody will come knocking at your digital door. When that day comes, do you want a free piece of software that you saw on LifeHacker, or a tried-and-tested, up-to-the-minute, comprehensive security solution?

Don’t be shortsighted and risk everything just to save a quick buck. Invest in your practice’s future, and protect yourself with the most powerful tools on the market

Dentists could learn a thing or two about running their practices by watching the NFL this season. Offense? Defense? It’s all pretty much the same language, and “studying” is enjoyable! Take it from this Ravens fan.

I’M A BIG FOOTBALL FAN. I’m excited to see how the Baltimore Ravens will do this year. Last year was a bust. Actually, ever since winning the Super Bowl five years ago, it’s been a hard slog. Fortunately, a new season brings new possibilities, and I’m hopeful that my team can bounce back this year.

So what can football teach us about running a successful dental practice? Here are three lessons . . .

1. A good ground game makes everything betterThe Dallas Cowboys surprised a lot of people last year, especially after star quarterback Tony Romo went down in preseason with a back injury. In the past when Romo has been out, the Cowboys have fallen apart.

That didn’t happen, thanks to the superlative play of first-year quarterback Dak Prescott. With Prescott at the helm, the Cowboys reeled off 11 straight victories after losing their season opener. They finished the season with the best record in the NFC at 13–3.

How did a rookie QB manage to do so well? He was supported by the number two rushing attack in the league. As a team, the Cowboys racked up nearly 2,400 rushing yards. Of course, with defenses geared up to prevent the run, throwing the ball was a lot easier for Prescott, who connected time and again on key passes to receivers such as Dez Bryant and Jason Witten.

What’s all this have to do with dentistry, you may ask? A lot, actually.

Your hygiene department is similar to a running game. It drives doctor production. When hygiene is operating at optimal levels, it’s a lot easier to successfully present restorative and elective treatment. A powerhouse hygiene schedule fuels practice success.

2. Don’t settle for the short passWatching the Ravens last year was tough. Too often Joe Flacco would throw a four-yard pass when the team needed five for a first down. Yes, it was a completion, but it wasn’t enough to move the chains. It was very frustrating.

Single-tooth treatment is the go-to procedure for many dentists, the equivalent of the short pass. Yes, your patients need amalgams, but often they are candidates for other types of restorative and elective treatment, too. They may turn down your case presentation, but if you

don’t even present the case, then it’s an automatic rejection.

Please excuse me for switching sports, but as Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

3. A good defense keeps you in the tough gamesThe Ravens won their first Super Bowl in 2001 with a great defense and a barely-there offense. Some years, your production (your offense) will sputter along, but playing great defense––improving collections and cutting overhead––can help you remain profitable.

Many dental offenses are currently struggling. There’s more competition for new patients, so it’s harder to grow production. But shoring up your defense can keep your practice performing at a high level. Here are some defensive targets to strive for:• Collect 95% or more of fees.• Reduce overhead by 3% or more this year.• Decrease cancellations by 10% or more.• Reactivate 60% or more of patients who haven’t been seen in six to 18 months.

ConclusionCan you lead your team to a winning season? Apply these three lessons to your practice and you’ll be doing your own touchdown dance at the end of the year.

September 25, 2017By Roger P. Levin, DDS CEO and Founder, Levin Grouphttp://www.dentistryiq.com/

3 Management Lessons For Dentists From The NFL

Cheap - Cont

Tech Mini-Bytes

Survey Shows Dentists Reviews “Extremely Important” When Choosing Providers

NEVER Throw Your Boarding Pass Away, Not Even After Your Flight Everybody knows that a boarding pass is mandatory in order to board a plane. While we’re in the airport, we keep a close eye on our boarding passes, clutching them in our hands like they’re precious gems. But after we land, pretty much everyone ditches the ticket, whether it’s lost on the floor, compacted in the washing machine or thrown directly into the trash.

This may seem innocent enough, until you realize the abundance of personal information encrypted on your pass. You’d be amazed at the information a person can glean just by scanning the QR code on the ticket: your home and e-mail addresses, your

phone number and even your bank information! When you get rid of your next boarding pass, shred it. Your bank account will thank you. LuxuryAndGlamor.com 2/5/2016

Are You Missing This One Critical Component In Your Business? If So, You Are GUARANTEED To Be Losing Sales As Inc. writer Rohit Arora puts it, “It may be 2017, but many companies are still conducting business like it’s the 20th century.” According to data collected in a recent CNBC report, close to half of small businesses don’t even have a website, and even fewer — around 36% — use a website to stay in touch with their customers and prospects. But if we can learn something from Nick’s Pizza &

Deli in New Jersey, it’s that even the smallest companies can leverage new technologies to dramatically increase sales. The restaurant partnered with a company called The Block, a business that builds websites for small businesses, granting them online ordering capabilities. As a result, Nick’s owner estimates an increase in annual revenues of around 15% to 20% in only six months. When you make it easy for your customers to pay, you drive further sales. It’s that simple. inc.com 8/6/2017

More than half of consumers look at online reviews before deciding on a dentist.

A new survey completed by Ceatus Media Group shows just how important impressions are to drumming up more business.

The survey, which was completed by individuals who visited one of three Ceatus-owned elective health care educational sites, included seven questions related to Internet use and healthcare provider reviews. The questions were used to determine how consumers research specific health care providers, including cosmetic dentistry providers, plastic surgeons, and eye surgeons, and how they ultimately choose their dentists and doctors.

The survey results pertaining to cosmetic dentistry were obtained from Ceatus Media’s Consumer Guide to Dentistry educational site, which features information on common cosmetic and general dentistry procedures, oral health conditions and diseases, dental insurance, and tips for choosing a dental provider. The survey was open to participants from May 1 to 31. While this was the only website used to look at trends in selecting cosmetic dentistry providers, Ceatus has a total of seven healthcare educational websites. Combined, these sites receive more than six million independent visitors each year.

The survey results gave a surprising look into the minds of dental care

consumers. As many as 63 percent of consumers who are considering any type of cosmetic dentistry procedure find online dentist reviews to be a vital part of their decision-making process. Another 33 percent believe that dental provider reviews are at least somewhat important when choosing a dentist. Only 4.4 percent of consumers responded that provider reviews are not important at all when seeking out cosmetic dentistry services.

“These first-of-their-kind findings are really eye-opening and will change the way plastic surgeons, dentists, and eye surgeons think about and execute their review strategies,” Dr. David Evans, CEO of Ceatus Media Group, says. “Our data clearly demonstrates the importance of reviews to patients seeking elective healthcare procedures. We are excited to share this unique data specific to dentistry, plastic surgery and eye surgery.”

According to the consumers polled, Google ranked as the most important review site, followed closely by Healthgrades and Facebook. Other directories, such as the

Yellow Pages, were not considered important review sites among the consumers polled. However, some respondents indicated that sites like Google and Healthgrades were not important in their decision-making process, indicating a high amount of variability among people who chose to participate.

September 25, 2017By Sarah Handzel, BSN, RN http://www.dmdtoday.com/

Shiny New Gadget Of The Month:

Picture Keeper Connect: The Best Way To Back Up Photos On The Go

Nothing feels worse than having to delete an old favorite to make room for some new photos. The Picture Keeper Connect solves both of these issues, providing easy-to-use backup for your phone or tablet.

The Picture Keeper Connect, which looks a lot like a conventional flash drive, is designed specifically to back up photos, videos and contact information with just a couple of button presses. It plugs into your phone and gets to work. Even better, it can do all of this without the need for WiFi or network connection. It keeps your photos in their designated album, meaning you won’t end up with a cluttered mass of photos when you transfer them to a new device.

Simple, functional, and portable, the Picture Keeper Connect is a must for any avid smartphone photographer.

P.O. Box 681 | Columbus | IN 47202T: 812-314-6724 | E: info@sagester.com | www.sagester.com

Sagester Associates Group provides dental practices with the latest, most advanced technology solutions for dentists in Indiana, Kentucky and the Midwest area. For over 15 years, we have earned a reputation as the preferred supplier of computer technology solutions for dentists who are serious about their practice.

Sagester Associates Group is focused exclusively on the dental industry. Dental technology solutions are all we do. We are experts at it, and no one knows more. Our superior service and dental practice knowledge is our core attribute and the real distinction that separates us from typical computer

system providers.

Need help? Just have a question?

Call us at 812-314-6724 or email at info@sagester.com.

Sagester Associates Group, Inc.P.O. Box 681Columbus, IN 47202

Inside This Edition:

You’re Better Off Giving Your

Employees A $1,000 Bonus Than

Being Cheap With Technology