By Brenda Tassava Medina, CPVM, CVJ
If 2020–2022 were the years of “too busy to think,” 2025 has been the year of mixed signals.
You may be looking at solid topline revenue while feeling the pressure of softer appointment demand, rising costs, anxious clients, and a tired team. The data backs that up and it also gives us a roadmap for 2026.
From my perspective as a practice management consultant, here’s how I’d summarize the state of the profession as we wrap up 2025, and what I believe practice owners and managers should be preparing for in the year ahead.
1. Pet Ownership and Spending Remain High
- The U.S. pet industry is projected to hit roughly $157 billion in sales for 2025, up from about $152 billion in 2024. Veterinary care and products account for over $40 billion of that, with about 4% year-over-year growth. (American Pet Products Association)
- Pet ownership has also rebounded as an estimated 94 million U.S. households now own at least one pet, with more than half of households owning a dog and over a third owning a cat. (American Pet Products Association)
- The AVMA’s 2025 data indicate that owners reported spending about $1,700 per year per household on pets in 2025, about $200 more than in prior years, with veterinary care making up roughly a third of that spend. (PetfoodIndustry)
Demand is there. But it’s more conditional than it used to be. Patient visits are softening while revenue is propped up by price.
Multiple analytics sources show patterns you may recognize in your own P&L:
- Revenue growth in the 3–6% range,
- 13+ consecutive quarters of declining invoices, at about –2% or more per quarter,
- Visits down year-over-year, even as revenue nudges up. (Ackerman)
A large survey of U.S. practices in Q1 2025 found patient visits down nearly 2% and revenues dipping slightly paired with more than 75% of veterinarians reporting price-related hesitation from clients. (Financial Times)
In other words, clients are still committed to their pets, but they’re pushing back on fees and making trade-offs.
2. Affordability and Financial Anxiety Are Reshaping Care
We now have robust data confirming what many of you hear in your exam rooms.
A 2025 Synchrony “Lifetime of Care” study found that:
- Nearly 8 out of 10 pet owners underestimate the lifetime cost of care.
- Lifetime costs over 15 years now range up to about $60,000 for dogs and nearly $50,000 for cats, increases of roughly 10–20% since 2022. (Synchrony Financial)
Other surveys show:
- Over half of U.S. pet owners have skipped needed veterinary care in the past year due to cost. (AVMA)
- During the current inflationary period, 46% of owners report delaying or foregoing procedures, with dentistry, imaging, and spay/neuter among the most frequently deferred; a third have canceled pet prescriptions purchased online. (TotalVet)
Owners still emotionally prioritize their pets, but cash flow and credit capacity are limiting factors.
Practical initiatives for your hospital:
- Prophylaxis and “nice-to-have” procedures will be the first to slip unless you actively connect them to outcomes.
- Transparent estimates, phased treatment plans, and clear “good / better / best” options are no longer optional; they’re core to compliance.
- Payment solutions (credit lines, third-party financing, wellness plans, pet insurance literacy) are increasingly strategic, not merely “nice to mentions.”
If your team is uncomfortable talking about money, 2026 is the year that must change.
3. Workforce Reality: Shortage, Misdistribution, and Role Optimization
The profession has spent years arguing: Do we have a true veterinarian shortage, or is it a distribution and efficiency problem? 2025 has continued that debate.
- AVMA data shows veterinarian unemployment around 0.7% in 2024, extremely tight compared to the general labor market. (myvmg.com)
- Academic and AVMA articles in 2025 highlight conflicting models with some projecting national shortages, others pointing to regional imbalances and under-utilization of existing capacity. (AVMA Journals)
- There is broad agreement on one point: there is a shortage of credentialed veterinary technicians and experienced support staff, and burnout is a persistent risk. (myvmg.com)
Compensation for veterinarians has continued to rise in 2025, driven by this tight labor market and ongoing demand. (PetDesk)
What we’re seeing in high-performing practices:
- Top-of-license culture: doctors focus on diagnostics, medical decision-making, and client communication, while credentialed techs and assistants are fully utilized for procedures, client education, and workflow.
- Creative support team scheduling: part-time, job-shares, relief pools, and hybrid roles (e.g., remote triage or virtual CSR shifts) to keep talent engaged.
- Deliberate wellbeing strategies: more predictable schedules, realistic appointment templates with leveraged support team members, and tech-enabled efficiency to reduce the daily chaos.
If you’re still running a “doctor does everything” model, 2025 has likely felt painful. 2026 will reward practices that treat workforce design as a strategic discipline, not just a hiring problem.
4. Technology, Telehealth, and AI Grow Up (a bit)
The early-pandemic telehealth gold rush has settled into something more nuanced.
Regulators have continued to refine veterinary telehealth laws:
- Many states still require an in-person VCPR for prescribing, including specific limits on what can be prescribed via video alone. (U.S. Food and Drug Administration)
- New legislation in states such as Georgia and Michigan is expanding definitions of tele-advice, tele-triage, and telemedicine while still anchoring them in a VCPR and placing limits on prescription duration. (GVMA)
- Model regulations from U.S. and Canadian boards continue to emphasize standards of care, informed consent, and appropriate follow-up. (AAVSB)
At the same time, AI and digital tools have moved from buzzwords into practical applications:
- Industry “top trends” lists for 2025 consistently highlight AI diagnostics, enhanced client messaging platforms, and wearable technology for monitoring chronic conditions. (Weave)
- Staffing trend reports describe clinics adopting AI assistants and digital scribes to handle notes and admin tasks. (Roo Vet)
- In human and veterinary medicine globally, AI scribes are now saving clinicians close to an hour a day by producing visit notes from conversation audio freeing up time for more patients or shorter days.
Technology is maturing from “shiny toy” to veterinary hospital infrastructure, especially in documentation, client communication, and remote care.
Looking Ahead to 2026: What to Expect and How to Prepare
Based on 2025 data and what we’re hearing from AVMA economic reports, practice brokers, and industry analytics, here’s how I’d frame 2026.
1. Slower volume growth, more selective spending
You might experience:
- Continued modest revenue growth, but with visits under pressure in many markets.
- Ongoing price sensitivity, especially for dentistry, imaging, and “non-urgent” care.
What to do:
- Track, at a minimum: active patients, visits per patient per year, average transaction charge, and compliance with core recommendations (vaccines, diagnostics, dentistry).
- Invest in client retention and reactivation including tailored reminders, targeted “lapsed patient” outreach, and better online scheduling and communication.
- Tighten your treatment plan and estimate conversations so clients understand value, not just price.
2. Persistent staffing challenges and more flexible expectations
Credentialed techs will remain scarce, and most markets will still feel “short” on experienced veterinarians, even if the macro models argue more about distribution than absolute supply.
What to do:
- Build genuine career ladders for techs, assistants, and CSRs, with defined skills, pay bands, and continuing education support.
- Optimize appointment workflows so doctors aren’t doing technician work. If your doctors are still placing every catheter, you’re leaving capacity on the table.
- Explore hybrid roles such as remote triage, virtual CSR/checkout, or shared relief pools with neighboring practices.
3. AI and automation as standard operating equipment
In 2026, AI tools will quietly become part of normal practice infrastructure especially in documentation and communication.
What to do:
- Pilot an AI scribe or note-assist tool for one or two doctors. Measure doctor time saved, visit capacity, and note quality. Repeat!
- Use automation thoughtfully for reminders, two-way texting, and refill workflows, while keeping room for human judgment in emotionally charged conversations.
- Create a simple technology roadmap: what you’ll standardize, what you’ll phase out, and how you’ll train the team.
4. Rising expectations for fee transparency
With rising client price sensitivity and declining visit volume, 2026 is a good year to get your house in order.
What to do:
- Publish clear fee ranges on your website for common services (e.g., wellness exam, spay/neuter packages, basic dentistry tiers).
- Train your team to communicate value before price: outcomes, comfort, convenience, and expertise.
- Review your pharmacy pricing strategy, including how you position your in-house and online pharmacy relative to big-box competitors.
Final Thought: Make 2026 the Year of Intentional Practice
If 2025 has felt like being squeezed from all sides including costs, clients, staffing you are not alone. But buried in the data is good news: pet ownership is robust, owners still view pets as family, and they want to say yes to care when they can.
The practices that will thrive in 2026 aren’t necessarily the ones with the fanciest building; they’re the ones that are:
- Ruthless about workflow and role clarity
- Proactive about financial communication and access to care
- Curious and disciplined about leveraging technology to protect their people and margins.
As you wrap up your 2025 review and plan for 2026, you should bring three questions to your next leadership meeting:
- Where are we losing patients or visits due to affordability and what specific tools can we put in place to address that?
- How can we redesign roles and workflows so every team member, especially doctors and credentialed techs, works at the top of their license?
- Which one or two technologies (not ten) will we commit to mastering in 2026 to make our team’s lives easier and our clients’ experience better?
Answer those honestly, build a concrete plan around them, and 2026 can be a year of deliberate, sustainable progress not merely survival.
