UC Davis reopens small animal rotating internship after 45 years, adds five slots for 2027Antech ships automated reader for its rapid diagnostic testsAI adoption in veterinary clinics rose from 39 percent to 84 percent in two yearsResting cortisol tracked APPLE scores but not mortality in 30 SIRS dogsFetch Pet Insurance bundles four annual telehealth visits into every policy at no added premiumPregabalin before spay raised sedation scores 2.46 points in 54 catsParasight System wins preferred-provider deal with 850-hospital independent practice networkVeterinary economist Matt Salois says practices cannot rely on pricing growth into 2027UC Davis reopens small animal rotating internship after 45 years, adds five slots for 2027Antech ships automated reader for its rapid diagnostic testsAI adoption in veterinary clinics rose from 39 percent to 84 percent in two yearsResting cortisol tracked APPLE scores but not mortality in 30 SIRS dogsFetch Pet Insurance bundles four annual telehealth visits into every policy at no added premiumPregabalin before spay raised sedation scores 2.46 points in 54 catsParasight System wins preferred-provider deal with 850-hospital independent practice networkVeterinary economist Matt Salois says practices cannot rely on pricing growth into 2027
The WireBy The VeterinaryPracticeNow Desk3 min readSeptember 17, 2026
Veterinary practices are testing AI on eight administrative tasks
From medical record summaries to controlled substance audits, practices are testing whether AI can reduce the administrative load that fragments the workday.
A veterinary industry writer describes eight administrative tasks where AI could reduce the workload that keeps associates working late and owner-DVMs digging through years of medical records between appointments.
The eight administrative tasks
AI-powered medical summaries pull key information from patient records before an appointment. According to Today's Veterinary Business, "instead of manually skimming months or years of visit notes," AI can surface "relevant history, current medications, previous testing results, and overdue preventive care." A veterinarian reviews the summary and walks into the exam room prepared.
Missed charges account for significant revenue loss for many practices. Today's Veterinary Business reports that as AI integrates more tightly "with practice information management systems, it can compare medical records, treatment plans, and invoices to flag services or medications that were documented but not billed." Staff review the discrepancies before finalizing the invoice.
AI can analyze practice data to uncover compliance trends that might otherwise go unnoticed. It can identify which clients are overdue for dental cleanings, which puppies never returned for their final vaccine series, or which senior pets have not had bloodwork in over a year. Today's Veterinary Business notes the insights help teams "prioritize outreach and personalize client education before small gaps become larger health problems."
Increased pet insurance adoption leads to better care but also a larger administrative burden. Today's Veterinary Business reports that "manually completing claims forms and gathering relevant documentation" eats up time, and "a claim for an orthopedic condition may require records from the initial lameness visit, X-rays, surgery, and follow-up appointments." AI can "compile these documents and write a concise summary."
Many practices battle an endless stream of medication refill requests. According to Today's Veterinary Business, "AI can compare the request against a patient's medical record to determine if" the patient has "been examined recently, the medication has been previously prescribed, and the requested dose is consistent with past prescriptions." It can also check whether "monitoring tests, such as a thyroid panel or phenobarbital level, need to be run before the refill can be approved." The publication reports AI can then "compile the requests for quick review and present them in order of urgency rather than chronologically." For example, "prescriptions for critical medications such as insulin and anticonvulsants can be prioritized over requests for flea and tick medications. If a refill" cannot "be approved immediately, AI can draft a message explaining why."
AI can reduce manual data entry for regulatory paperwork, check for completeness, and draft "documents from information already in the medical record," according to Today's Veterinary Business. Examples include health certificates for travel, USDA export documentation, and rabies vaccination certificates.
Today's Veterinary Business reports that "tracking controlled drug use is one of the most important regulatory tasks" a veterinary team tackles. Regular audits ensure "records are up to date and accurate, but" cross-checking every line against patient records is time-consuming. AI can cross-check controlled substance logs "with recent invoices and medical records to flag discrepancies that warrant a closer look."
Today's Veterinary Business notes that "most practices have valuable information sitting inside their PIMS that rarely gets used. AI can analyze the data in seconds to reveal trends that would otherwise require time-consuming manual reporting. For example, AI can" identify which services have the lowest compliance rates, track average transaction values by appointment type, or compare revenue per doctor across the practice. Once a practice knows "where barriers to productivity, compliance, and retention lie," it can create a plan to address them.
Today's Veterinary Business reports that "using AI for administrative tasks is a low-risk way to explore its potential," even for practices hesitant to embrace the technology. The tasks described are repetitive and time-consuming, which makes them reasonable candidates for automation.
Today's Veterinary Business notes AI will not "eliminate the need for skilled veterinary professionals, but it can eliminate" administrative interruptions that fragment the workday. The publication suggests the contribution to veterinary practice may "be giving teams more time to do the work only they can do."
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