There's more at stake than a fine when you mishandle client and employee information

An amendment could exempt certain businesses, including veterinarians, from the Red Flags Rule.

Secure your clients' and team members' private information against identity theft and mitigate your own risk of future fines

Six steps to complying with the Red Flags Rule.

With small-animal practitioners deferring payments and large-animal veterinarians billing their clients, there is no doubt that the "Red Flags" provision of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, which became effective May 1, applies to the veterinary profession.

The first article in this series discussed reasons veterinarians should keep their private practice private (May, 2007). Last month, the topic was why privacy makes good business sense. This final article outlines a program on making sure sensitive data about employees and customers is protected.

It's simply good business practice that will reduce or eliminate costly incidents.