Postcard Reminders
Updated
Postcard reminders can be added to subscription packages for practices in the United States with a full data connection to the practice management software. Postcard reminders are available for $0.74 each, which includes postage.
Postcard reminders are sent automatically once per month for patients with a past-due reminder from the previous calendar month, and to patients with a reminder coming due in two calendar months.
Example: For the month of May, postcards will be sent to all past-due reminders with April due dates, and for all coming-due reminders with July due dates.
See the full mailing schedule and details
To be eligible to receive a postcard, the client and patient must be in an active status in the PMS, and reminders cannot be suspended at either the client or patient level in the PMS. Clients do not need to have an email on file or be an app user to be eligible to receive a postcard.
Sign up for Postcard reminders
Once you have signed up for Postcard reminders through the link above, we will begin the configurations required and notify you when they have been completed. Once we notify you that configurations are completed, you will need to enable postcard reminders from your dashboard settings.
To enable Postcard reminders, go to your Vet2Pet dashboard:
- Settings > Health Service Reminders > Postcards
- Toggle on the switch to Enable postcard reminders
Practice email notifications:
The practice can be notified via email when the next postcard batch is available to review, and when the batch has been sent for printing and mailing. If the switches are enabled, the email will be sent to the address entered under Settings > Practice Info > Primary Email. To have the email notification sent to a different address, enter it in the space provided.
Automatic batch suppression options:
- Suppress for clients with a valid email on file
Practices can automatically suppress coming-due postcards from being sent to clients who have a valid email on file in the practice software. This feature must be enabled prior to end of day on the 4th of the month in order for the suppressions to apply to the upcoming batch and all future batches. Past-due reminders will not be automatically suppressed with this setting enabled.
- Suppress for clients with an upcoming exam scheduled within 90 days
Practices can automatically suppress coming-due postcards from being sent to clients who have a scheduled exam within the next 90 days of the batch period by suppressing the appointment reason or type code from the PMS. Example: For the month of May, postcards will be suppressed if there is a scheduled appointment in May, June or July.
This suppression must be added prior to end of day on the 4th of the month in order for the suppressions to apply to the upcoming batch and all future batches.
To see a list of available reason/type codes from the PMS, download the My Practice Appointment Codes report under Settings > Appointments > Confirmation Preferences.
From the Vet2Pet dashboard under the Postcards tab, your team will be able to manage the upcoming postcard batch, view previous batch history, and see the clients who have been added to a suppression list.
The postcard report will display three separate tabs:
- Current Batch — This shows the list of postcards that are in the queue to be sent with the next batch. This data will be imported within the first five days of each month.
- Past Mailings — This shows information about previous mailings, including number of postcards sent, the cost for the month's batch, and access to a downloadable list of clients who received a postcard.
- Suppressions — This shows a list of clients who have been excluded from receiving any Postcard reminders.
Managing the Current Batch tab
The current month's postcard batch can be reviewed, and suppressions can be added to the report, until the end of day on the 9th of each month. On the 10th of each month, the report is sent for printing and mailing, and further changes cannot be made.
The total number of postcards that will be sent in the current batch will be displayed beneath the suppression boxes at the top. As suppressions are added, the totals will update.
Filter options
- To view patients due to receive one specific reminder type, ie. Stool test, select the reminder type in the drop down next to Filter reminder type.
- Some patients may have reminders in both the coming due and past due periods. If so, a total of how many patients due to receive two reminders will display. Select Both types of reminders on the Show patients with drop down. From there, select under each patient whether to send just the coming due reminder, just the past due reminder, both, or none. If no changes are made, both postcards will be sent.
Suppression options
- To suppress an individual postcard from being mailed for just the current batch, check the box to Suppress mailing just once. This will remove only this postcard from being mailed, but future reminders for the same patient will still be mailed.
- To permanently suppress sending postcards for a specific client, check the box to Suppress all mailing for this user. This will add this client to the Suppressions tab, where they can be resubscribed to receiving postcards in the future, if needed.
- To suppress sending all coming-due or all past-due postcards, check the corresponding box.
We will calculate your postcard investment by figuring your total cost of postcards (# cards x $0.74 each). Then, based on an average cost of $100 for a wellness exam and two vaccines, we calculate how many clients would offset the entire cost of the batch. For most practices, the revenue from fewer than 1% of the clients from each batch will offset the cost.
Example:
- 307 upcoming + 224 past due = 531 cards to be mailed
- 531 x $0.74 = $392.94 batch cost
- 4 client visits for a $100 wellness and two vaccines would offset the cost of the batch.
- 4/531= 0.75% of clients to offset the cost of the batch.
A check box and text option have been added for practices who have multiple team members who manage the monthly postcard batch. Once the batch has been reviewed, the box can be checked and the team member's name added to indicate that the batch has been reviewed. The batch will be sent out regardless of whether or not this box has been checked.
Managing the Past Mailings tab
The list of past mailings includes the total number of postcards that were mailed, the investment cost for each month's batch, and a downloadable report of sent postcards, if needed for future reference.
The amount for each month of postcards will be billed to the payment method on file at Vet2Pet with the following month's subscription charge. To update the payment method we have on file, please contact us.
Managing the Suppressions tab
The Suppressions tab displays a list of clients who have been unsubscribed from receiving any postcard reminders.
To add a client to the list, find them in the User list and uncheck the box to Send Postcard reminders.
To remove a client from the suppression list, uncheck the box in the Postcard report under the Suppressions tab, or recheck the box to Send Postcard reminders under the user dashboard.
If a postcard is returned to the practice as undeliverable, it is recommended that postcard reminders are suspended until an updated address can be obtained from the client. Learn more about best practices for undeliverable postcards HERE.
