Macromanagement Perspective

Imagine, indeed, what would happen if third parties were utilized for the payment of goods and services. In my travels, I have stopped at my local grocery store and asked the general manager whether, if I did not have the money to pay, would he still let me leave with my groceries. He looked around first, leaned over, and quietly told me, “Ah, well, no.” I followed up with, “What if I decided to leave the grocery store with my basket of items because I had no money to pay regardless? Then what?” Again, the quiet look around, with, “Ah, well, I would have to call the authorities.

Obviously we could not pursue that routine at my local warehouse store. They have major precertification at the door. One cannot even walk into the warehouse without a membership card. They even have tiered cards for special members who have greater access levels based on status. They have such a high opinion of their customers that they provide a checkpoint at the exit door to review the items in your cart, in comparison to those on your receipt, just in case a few extra items slipped in. Imagine the media fodder with that type of checkpoint at your local hospital.

A similar attempt at my local high-end retail store resulted only in a raised eyebrow glare, with a gradual movement of the hand below the counter, as I suggested that I would keep the merchandise without payment. What is the point? What other commercial industry exists in which we expect employees to provide a service ...

Get Healthcare Fraud: Auditing and Detection Guide, 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.