I'm leaving. Can I take my clients with me?

I disagree with recent decisions my boss made and with the quality of his practice. After 12 years, I'm ready to move out on my own. I don't have a noncompete agreement and plan to open a practice in the same town. My clients deserve to know I'm leaving and should have the opportunity to follow me. What can I do?

"The AVMA Principles of Veterinary Medical Ethics clearly state that medical records are the property of the practice and the practice's owner," say Dr. Jim Wilson, JD, president of Priority Veterinary Management Consultants in Yardley, Pa., and Kristina Yee, a fourth-year student at Ross University/ Ohio State University. Without the express permission of the practice owner, it's unethical for you to remove, copy, or use the medical records or any part of any record." Doing so could result in prosecution or an administrative action by a state board of examiners, they say. In California, for example, unauthorized and intentional use of a medical record can result in fines of up to $5,000 and/or up to a year in prison.

While you could ask the owner for permission to alert clients in a hospital newsletter or to leave a forwarding address, consent isn't likely, Yee and Dr. Wilson say. The more appropriate action: Generate press releases for your new practice, place ads in the telephone directory, and develop a hospital Web site.

"Make sure your efforts target the entire community, so there's no chance that anyone will think that you absconded with the practice's client mailing list," they say. "And don't include references such as 'formerly of Elsewhere Animal Hospital' in your marketing materials—that reeks of an active solicitation."

"Under the laws and legal precedents of nearly all states, the clients you've been seeing for the past 12 years are not legally yours. Don't burn any collegial bridges by actively soliciting them. All that does is generate bad blood. But, rest assured, loyal clients will find you. "

Dr. Jim Wilson