VETgirl spotlights the innovations likely to shape vet med in 2026
CURRENT BRIEF VERSION: Top innovations in veterinary medicine are getting a mainstream platform in 2026, with VETgirl’s February 9 podcast featuring Drs. Garret Pachtinger and Justine Lee spotlighting four themes they see shaping practice this year: AI integration, personalized care, urgent care growth, and advanced diagnostics. The episode lands alongside VETgirl’s broader 2026 push into mobile-first continuing education through its new VETgirl Vital app, which offers offline learning, CE tracking, and personalized content recommendations for veterinary teams. It also sits within a wider VETgirl education push that includes registration for the June 19–21, 2026 VGU conference in Salt Lake City, with a dedicated veterinary technician track, underscoring how these innovation conversations are being packaged not just for veterinarians but for the full practice team. In other words, this isn’t a regulatory or product approval story so much as a signal about where influential veterinary educators think the profession is heading, and how they’re packaging that message for busy clinicians. (podcasts.apple.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the value is less in the trend list itself than in the framing. AI, telehealth-adjacent workflows, remote monitoring, and more tailored care models are moving from conference talking points into day-to-day operational questions: what tools are reliable, what belongs inside the veterinarian-client-patient relationship, and where human oversight has to stay central. Just as important, many of these shifts depend on technician training and role development, something VETgirl is also emphasizing in its technician-focused programming and podcast coverage, including discussion of advanced credentials like VTS (Dentistry) and technician leadership in areas such as dental procedures, anesthesia support, and training. That tension is showing up across the profession. AAHA has described AI as a major future force in veterinary medicine while also warning that teams need validation and trust before leaning in, and the AAVSB’s 2025 AI guidance says regulators are already thinking about safeguards and limits on use. (aaha.org)
What to watch: Expect more 2026 CE programming, vendor launches, and policy guidance that turns broad themes like AI, urgent care, and personalized medicine into practical standards for adoption, with increasing attention to technician-specific education and team-based implementation. (vhma.org)