Vaccine recall
Updated
This article is for veterinary clinic teams. If you're worried about a pet right now, call your vet or nearest emergency clinic.
A vaccine recall is a scheduling process: the clinic contacts a client to say that a pet's vaccine visit is coming due, based on the reminder dates already in the practice records, and helps them book it.
The word "recall" here has nothing to do with a product recall. It means calling a patient back in for a planned visit. For the front desk, it is a reminder and booking task. What a pet needs, and when, is set by the clinic's veterinarians and recorded in the pet's file. The front desk only works from those dates.
How a recall run usually works
Most practice-management systems (PIMS) keep a list of reminders that fall due in the coming weeks. Someone on the team pulls that list, removes pets that are already booked, have moved away or have died, and then contacts the rest. Contact might be a text, an email, a call or a postcard, depending on what each client has agreed to.
A good recall message names the clinic and the pet, says the visit is due, and asks for one action: book, or reply to arrange a time. If there is no booking after the first message, a follow-up goes out later. After that, the reminder stays in the PIMS for the next review.
Where recalls go wrong
Recalls often slip when the front desk is busy, because they are never as urgent as the ringing phone. Lists drift out of date, and clients who have lost a pet can receive a painful message. Texting a client also needs the right consent for that channel and purpose, with an easy way to opt out. Keeping the list clean and the consent records current matters as much as sending the messages.
An example
A practice manager pulls next month's due reminders on the first Monday of the month. She removes three pets marked as deceased and two already booked. The remaining clients who agreed to texts get a short message with a reply option. A week later, anyone without a booking gets one follow-up, and the rest are left for a call from the team.
How Tilly handles it
Tilly sends vaccine and wellness recalls to clients who've agreed to hear from you. Reminders that are due in your PIMS become recall messages, sent ahead of the due date and followed up if there's no booking. When a client replies to pick a time, Tilly books it. Tilly does not decide what a pet needs; it works only from the reminders your team has set.
For timing, wording and follow-up ideas, see the complete guide to no-shows, reminders and recalls and the reminder text templates.