Lapsed-patient contact planning
How UK dental practices can plan contact with lapsed patients: a practice-defined meaning of lapsed, a short contact sequence with an end, wording that discloses nothing clinical, and respecting people who ask not to be contacted, including what the electronic marketing rules say.
A lapsed patient is usually someone who meant to come back and did not. Contacting them is reasonable. Doing it endlessly, vaguely, or in a way that tells a stranger something about their health is not. A plan, agreed before anyone picks up the phone, keeps the contact useful and proportionate.
Who counts as lapsed
There is no single definition, so write your own and apply it the same way every month. A workable form is: a patient whose recall date, as set by their clinician, passed more than a fixed number of months ago, with no appointment booked. Measuring against each patient's own recall date matters, because intervals differ between patients. Then remove from the list anyone who has:
- asked not to be contacted, or not by a particular method;
- told the practice they have moved or registered elsewhere;
- a note from the clinical team asking for a personal call instead;
- already been through the full sequence in the current period.
It can help to split the list by how long patients have been overdue, because someone a few months late and someone several years late may need different wording and may have different contact details on file.
How and how often
Decide the number of attempts, the methods and the gaps in advance. One example of a sequence with an end:
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Attempt one | The patient's preferred method. A short message saying a routine appointment is overdue and how to book. |
| Attempt two, a few weeks later | A phone call from a named team member, offering two specific times. |
| Attempt three, a few weeks after that | A final message saying this is the last reminder, and how to get in touch whenever they are ready. |
| Then | Stop, and record the outcome: booked, moved, registered elsewhere, not now, no response, or asked not to be contacted. |
Give one named person ownership of the list, so that patients are not called twice in a week by different people, and so that every outcome is recorded.
Wording that discloses nothing
Patient information must be kept confidential and used only for the purpose it was given [1]. A text or voicemail may be seen or heard by someone else, so it should identify the practice and the next step, and nothing about treatment, conditions or why the patient was last seen. For example:
"Hello [first name], this is [name] at [Practice]. I can see you are due a routine appointment. If you would like to book, call me on [number] or reply to this message. If you would rather not hear from [Practice] about this, reply STOP."
On the phone, confirm you are speaking to the patient before saying anything beyond the practice name.
Reminders, marketing and the rules
In the UK, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) treat texts as electronic mail: the definition covers text, voice, sound or image messages and includes messages sent by short message service [2]. Direct marketing is defined as the communication, by whatever means, of advertising or marketing material directed to particular individuals [2].
Regulation 22 says unsolicited direct marketing by electronic mail must not be sent unless the recipient has previously told the sender they consent, except in defined circumstances [3]. The exception most relevant to a practice applies where the sender obtained the contact details in the course of a sale or negotiations for the sale of a product or service, the marketing is only for the sender's similar products and services, and the recipient was given a simple, free way to refuse when the details were collected and in every later message [3].
The regulation does not list which practice messages are marketing. A plain reminder that a routine appointment is due may be treated differently from a message promoting whitening or a new service. Where the line between a service reminder and marketing is unclear for a particular message, or for patients whose care is not bought privately, take advice before sending. Whatever the answer, including a simple way to opt out in every message costs nothing.
When someone says no
- Record the request on the patient's record the same day, including which methods it covers.
- Make sure the request reaches every list and system that sends messages, not only the one it arrived through.
- Do not reply to argue or to ask for a reason. A short acknowledgement is enough.
- Keep the patient on the clinical record as normal. Declining contact is not the same as leaving the practice.
Contact planning is one step in the patient retention and reactivation workflow, and the results feed the retention cohort worksheet.
Sources
- General Dental Council, Standards for the Dental Team, Principle 4: Maintain and protect patients' information. Accessed 1 November 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, regulation 2 (Interpretation). Accessed 1 November 2026.
- legislation.gov.uk, The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, regulation 22 (Use of electronic mail for direct marketing purposes). Accessed 1 November 2026.