What VETgirl says will shape veterinary medicine in 2026
Innovation in veterinary medicine in 2026 is increasingly being defined by tools that promise to fit into daily practice, not just future-facing concepts. In a February 9, 2026, VETgirl podcast, Drs. Garret Pachtinger and Justine Lee highlighted AI integration, personalized care, urgent care growth, and advanced diagnostics as the developments they believe will shape the year ahead. Their framing reflects a broader industry shift: technology is being discussed less as an add-on and more as part of clinical decision-making, team efficiency, and client communication. (podcasts.apple.com)
That message also aligns with VETgirl’s own expansion of mobile education. The company’s VETgirl vital app is now available on iOS and Android and packages webinars, podcasts, videos, offline learning, CE tracking, certificate access, and community discussions into one platform. In a separate 2026 company blog, Pachtinger described 2025 as a year of momentum and cast 2026 as a “next-level evolution” for VETgirl, with smarter learning formats, expanded certificate programs, enhanced live events, and the app launch as key pieces of that plan. VETgirl’s broader programming is also emphasizing team development: in another 2026 podcast, the company promoted VGU 2026 in Salt Lake City, including a veterinary technician-specific track, alongside a discussion with Stefanie Perry, CVT, VTS (Dentistry), on specialty credentialing, technician advocacy in Arizona, and the role technicians play in veterinary dentistry. (marketing.vetgirlontherun.com)
On the clinical side, the podcast’s themes are supported by signals elsewhere in the profession. AI is no longer theoretical for many teams. AAHA reported findings from a Digitail survey showing that 39.2% of veterinary professionals said they were using AI tools or software in their veterinary setting, and most of those users said they were using them daily or weekly. AAHA also offered a 2025 workshop focused on leveraging AI in veterinary medicine to improve care and efficiency, underscoring that the conversation has moved into mainstream continuing education. (aaha.org)
Diagnostics may be one of the clearest near-term examples. At the 2025 Western Veterinary Conference, Zoetis promoted Vetscan OptiCell as the first cartridge-based, AI-powered veterinary hematology tool, pitching faster access to results and greater confidence in interpretation. Research is moving, too: a 2025 preprint describing VET-DINO reported development of an AI model trained on 5 million veterinary radiographs from 668,000 canine studies, a sign of how quickly veterinary imaging datasets and machine learning ambitions are scaling. While those tools are at very different stages of maturity, they point in the same direction: more software-assisted interpretation embedded within routine diagnostics. (viticusgroup.org)
Urgent care is another area the VETgirl episode flagged, and that trend has been visible for several years as practices try to address the space between daytime primary care and 24-hour emergency hospitals. Axios reported in 2024 that Truss Vet was explicitly building around that middle ground, while Chewy Vet Care’s expansion in Texas has included urgent care alongside wellness and surgery. The details vary by company, but the larger pattern is clear: new care models are being built around convenience, access, and triage flexibility for pet parents. (axios.com)
Expert commentary suggests enthusiasm is being tempered by caution. A recent Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine survey of ACVIM and ECVIM-CA members examined clinicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and feelings toward AI and machine learning, while the American Association of Veterinary State Boards has published guidance on regulatory considerations for AI in veterinary medicine. At the same time, VETgirl’s technician-focused content points to another practical layer of adoption: new tools only matter if trained teams can use them well. Perry’s discussion of the long path to a VTS in dentistry, her work with veterinary technician association-building in Arizona, and her role training students in dental procedures and anesthesia at Midwestern University all underscore how much innovation depends on workforce development, not just product availability. That combination, growing use on one hand and governance and training questions on the other, suggests 2026 will be as much about guardrails and staffing as adoption. (academic.oup.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, the practical question isn’t whether innovation is coming, but which tools are mature enough to improve care without adding friction. AI-assisted documentation, diagnostics, and client communication may help stretched teams, but they also raise questions about oversight, training, liability, and clinical judgment. Personalized care and urgent care growth could improve access and patient matching, yet they may also reshape referral patterns, staffing needs, and expectations from pet parents. Education platforms like VETgirl vital matter in that context because adoption depends on whether teams can learn, evaluate, and operationalize new tools quickly. The same is true for technician development and specialty training, especially in areas like dentistry where advanced procedural and anesthesia support can directly influence how effectively practices use new diagnostics and care models. (marketing.vetgirlontherun.com)
What to watch: The next phase will likely center on implementation. Watch for more product launches in AI-enabled diagnostics, more CE focused on applied AI and workflow redesign, and more discussion from regulators and professional groups about appropriate use, documentation, and accountability. Also watch whether investment in technician education, specialty pathways, and team-based training keeps pace with the technology itself. If 2025 was about momentum, 2026 looks more like a year when veterinary teams will have to decide which innovations truly belong in everyday practice. (viticusgroup.org)