Purging inactive clients

What's considered an inactive client, and how often should you purge inactive clients?

Roger Cummings, CVPM, a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member and consultant with Brakke Consulting Inc. in Dallas, says that currently all of the data indicates that both cat and dog owners generally bring their pet to a practice more than once a year. "Most consultants would advise a practice to consider clients inactive whose pets haven't been seen within the previous 12 months," he says. "The practice should at least contact the owners of pets not seen within 12 months to educate them and determine why the pet hasn't been seen in the practice.

"Practices have traditionally used their states' requirement for rabies vaccinations as a guideline for purging inactive clients," says Cummings. "For example, if the state requires annual rabies vaccinations, then generally practices purge inactive clients annually, whereas if the state requirement was every three years for rabies vaccinations, then the practice would purge every three years."

Roger Cummings, CVPM