Top 10 New Veterinary Technology Trends to Watch in 2026

Key Takeaways

• Workflow comes first: Start-ups get more value from a connected booking-to-billing system than from piling on disconnected tools.
• Integration is crucial: If data doesn’t land back in the main record, teams end up double-entering and chasing updates.
• Self-serve reduces phone pressure fast: Online booking, digital intake, and payment workflows protect capacity when demand spikes.
• Reporting needs to be a part of a system: Business intelligence platforms reduce spreadsheet work because the dashboards sit in-platform at no extra cost.

Veterinary technology in 2026 is bringing a reset of how practices run day to day. The demand keeps climbing while teams stay stretched. In Australia, 73% of households own a pet, with an estimated 31.6 million pets nationwide.

In New Zealand, sector reporting also points to heavy demand relative to available clinical capacity. This means clinics are adopting new technologies so they can keep up with this demand while staying profitable.

Quick Guide to the New Technology Areas

1) Cloud-Based Veterinary Practice Management Software (PMS)

For start-up and growing practices, the fastest wins usually come from fixing workflow first.

When your booking-to-billing process runs smoothly, you can adopt new tools without creating more moving parts. That’s why many clinics start with a cloud PMS as the system of record.

If you’re choosing a cloud PMS, prioritize these checks:

• Workflow fit: Walk through your most common appointment types and confirm the clicks from booking to invoice.
• Real-time KPIs: The right dashboard turns your raw data into something you can act on without exporting, cleaning, and rebuilding reports every week.
• Integrations: Look for a system that connects cleanly with the tools you already use. Covetrus offers an entire integration ecosystem, with an expanding partner directory.
• Start-up economics: 80% of practices using Ascend cite reporting cost savings of $1,000 to $5,000 AUD, tied to avoiding on-premise hardware.
• Security and data resilience: Ask where data sits, how backups work, and what redundancy looks like. Ascend customer data resides in a Microsoft Azure data center with built-in redundancy and multi-location storage.
• Support and onboarding: Implementation matters more than feature lists. Covetrus offers structured go-live support with customer success check-ins and 24/7 tech support post go-live.

Ascend focuses on workflow efficiency and can help with significant time savings because it pairs the PMS with reporting inside the same system.

MyHub view in Ascend shows you upcoming appointments, checked-in patients, in-consult patients, ready to pay, complete, and admitted. This means that your team is on top of things in practice at any given time and can improve the client experience.

If you want to see what a connected workflow looks like in practice, book a live demo of Covetrus Ascend.

2) Client Communication Platforms

Client communication tools reduce phone load and help clinics follow through on care. In a start-up clinic, comms tech earns its keep when it triggers from real workflow events and stores the trail in the record.

Look for communications that tie to:

• Scheduling: Appointment confirmations and reminders that adjust by appointment type.
• Clinical follow-up: Post-op and treatment check-ins with clear escalation rules.
• Financial moments: Estimates, payments, and overdue balances that don’t rely on staff memory.

Ascend removes the need for separate messaging systems such as text, email and WhatsApp, etc. Streamlines team messaging all within the PMS in one place, whether the user is onsite or offsite. Records the messages for each user and historical records.

3) Self-Serve Technology

Self-serve tools remove bottlenecks like repeated intake questions and queues at reception. For newer practices, this can shift admin load without needing more headcount.

Start with the self-serve options that cut the most repetitive work:

• Online booking: Use an integration like Vetstoria online booking to give clients 24/7 booking while keeping availability synced to your PMS calendar.
• Digital forms: Use VetCheck digital consent forms so clients can complete consent and key intake details before they arrive, with forms housed online inside the workflow.
• Automated reminders and confirmations: Use Covetrus SMS appointment reminders to automate confirmations and reduce no-shows with two-way messaging tied to the communications log.

Make sure self-serve data lands in the patient record without manual re-entry. That’s where Ascend’s integration ecosystem does the heavy lifting, especially when digital forms and online booking feed straight into the PMS workflow.

4) Veterinary Telemedicine

According to Future Market Insights, pet owners increasingly prefer video consultations for diagnostic and treatment consultations of their pets.

But telemedicine works best when it supports access and continuity, without creating clinical risk. The Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria notes telemedicine should occur where there is a pre-existing practitioner–owner–animal relationship, with records maintained and standards matching in-person care.

Practical telemedicine uses that tend to work well operationally:

• Post-treatment follow-ups: faster reassurance, clearer escalation rules.
• Triage guidance: advice on next steps and urgency, with in-person routing when needed.
• Chronic care support: structured check-ins for long-term plans.

If telemedicine is part of your model, Covetrus supports virtual consults through Rapport telemedicine, where you can convert an appointment into a video conference and send the client a join link by SMS or email.

5) Pet-Health Plans

Health plans have proved to be incredibly useful for clinics and pet owners. Done well, they support preventive compliance and reduce the shock of one-off large invoices.

Care plans can help you improve cash flow, revenue, and client retention, while making costs more manageable for pet parents.

• Keep inclusions simple and operationally easy to deliver.
• Tie reminders to plan entitlements, not generic recall cycles.
• Track compliance and revisit rates, so you see whether plans change behaviour.

If you run Ascend, you can build plans using Care Plans in Covetrus Ascend, which support regular vet visits and help improve cash flow and client retention.

Greencross Vets are a great example of how you can package your pet-health plan.

6) Pet Wearables

Pet wearables are an overlooked trend, particularly as there’s a relatively low level of knowledge and awareness among Australian pet owners, yet this market will be worth USD$649 million.

Places where wearables can add real value:

• Weight management and mobility tracking: trend lines that support better coaching.
• Post-op recovery: early flags that trigger a check-in.
• Chronic conditions: pattern visibility that helps clinicians adjust plans.

This is a great chance for veterinary clinics to stock pet wearables, incorporate them into pet-health programs, or stay current on any current veterinary data integrations with wearables. Doing so would put you ahead of the game and enhance your offerings.

7) Genetic Testing Technology

Genetic testing has become more accessible, which changes the client conversation. Owners now show up with results, questions, and expectations. Clinics need a plan for how they interpret, document, and communicate results.

Good use-cases tend to look like this:

• Breed-related risk discussions: proactive screening and monitoring plans.
• Preventive care planning: tailored advice that still stays grounded in clinical judgement.
• Informed consent and privacy: documented discussion, clear records.

StartUS insights analysed 640 global startups and scaleups to identify emerging technologies used in the veterinary industry, and they identified genomics as a key area.

8) AI in Diagnostics

AI shows up in diagnostics as decision support. It can help triage imaging, highlight anomalies, and speed up review, but it still needs governance and clinical accountability.

For example, the Zoetis Vetscan Imagyst® allows practitioners to diagnose patients within hours or minutes.

Two practical filters to apply before adopting:

• Auditability: Can your team understand why a suggestion appears and when to ignore it?
• Integration: Does the output land in your workflow, or does it create a separate island?

But if you can’t capture AI-assisted outputs inside your clinical record flow, you will struggle to scale it safely.

9) 3D Printing

3D printing matters most in surgical planning and complex orthopaedic cases. It sits closer to specialty care, but it still affects general practices through referral coordination and post-op continuity.

Where it tends to show up:

• Pre-surgical models: clearer planning and owner communication.
• Custom splints or devices: improved fit for certain cases.
• Education: staff training and client understanding.

This technology allows for personalised treatment plans that fit the unique needs of each animal. It goes way beyond prosthetics, and EOS intelligence identifies five different printing applications as well as current challenges.

10) Robotics in Surgery

Robotic-assisted surgery is becoming more common in veterinary medicine, offering greater precision, reduced trauma, and shorter recovery times for pets undergoing surgery

“Robotic-assisted surgery is very futuristic. Veterinarians have seen more desire for minimally invasive procedures because it’s what we get as humans. Looking at ways to bring this tool into veterinary medicine is keeping up with the peak of what’s being offered to humans for surgery. I think we should work to offer surgical options in veterinary medicine that are offered in human medicine.” – Dr. Kelley Theiman from the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (VMBS).

For general practices, this trend still matters because:

• Referral pathways evolve: owners ask about advanced options sooner.
• Post-op follow-up needs structure: discharge instructions, rechecks, outcomes tracking.
• Documentation expectations increase: clearer records support continuity with specialty teams.

When specialty capabilities rise, general practice workflows need to keep up.

Benefits of New Veterinary Technology

New veterinary technology pays off when it reduces day-to-day admin, keeps clinical data clean, and makes follow-up easier to deliver. The real benefit shows up in capacity, consistency, and visibility, especially when your tools connect back to one PMS workflow instead of living in separate systems.

Faster Workflow and Less Admin Load

When booking, notes, billing, inventory, and follow-up run in one place, teams spend less time switching tabs and fixing double entry. A cloud PMS like Covetrus Ascend helps newer clinics protect capacity without adding headcount.

Better Decision-Making From Cleaner Data

Modern tools capture more usable data at the point of care, which improves accuracy and reduces “missing details” that slow consults. When data stays structured inside your system, reporting becomes reliable and clinical teams stop guessing based on incomplete records.

Stronger Client Communication and Follow-Through

With Ascend, you can have automated reminders, digital intake, and consistent post-visit messages to help owners show up, pay on time, and complete recommended care. Better follow-through improves outcomes and reduces repeat calls, especially when communication ties back into your patient record instead of sitting in a separate inbox.

More Consistent Revenue Capture

Technology reduces missed charges, inconsistent fee application, and billing delays that quietly erode margin. A connected system makes it easier to standardise estimates and invoicing, then spot gaps early using performance reporting rather than waiting for month-end surprises.

Clearer Performance Visibility for Owners and Managers

Dashboards turn PMS data into daily signals you can act on, like appointment volume shifts, payment performance, and retention trends. Vetlytics dashboards inside Ascend help clinics review KPIs quickly, without exporting data and rebuilding spreadsheets.

The Future of Veterinary Medicine

Australia’s pet population keeps rising, and demand for veterinary care rises with it. National survey data puts Australia at 31.6 million pets across 73% of households, with many owners feeling cost pressure, including those who need financial assistance for veterinary care.

At the same time, federal labour market data shows recruiter difficulty growing, with vacancy fill time stretching to 25 weeks. In NSW, reported pet demand growth has outpaced growth in vets in clinical practice, which puts more weight on systems that remove admin drag and protect clinical time.

That’s why more practices will prioritise cloud transitions, mobile workflows, and data visibility that managers can use daily. If you’re planning for 2027, it helps to start with the operational foundations and remove friction before you add advanced tools like AI-assisted diagnostics.

For a practical view of what that transition looks like, see how to prepare for cloud-based veterinary software and how practices address veterinary staffing challenges with smarter systems.

Use Cloud Tools Like Ascend to Simplify Your Veterinary Workflows

Most “new tech” only helps if your clinic runs on a clean, connected workflow. If your team still jumps between tools to book appointments, capture notes, invoice, chase payments, and report performance, you’ll feel every new system as extra work.

That’s why many start-up and growth practices start with a cloud PMS that keeps daily operations in one place. Covetrus Ascend cloud veterinary practice management software fits clinics that want cloud access, a connected workflow, and built-in visibility through Vetlytics business intelligence dashboards.

Our onboarding team is made up of ex-industry professionals who deeply understand the challenges of busy practices.

We also offer in-person onboarding and implementation options.

“Setup was easy, and we had a knowledgeable implementation specialist who helped us through the migration process and did regular check-ins. It was also easy to learn and get up to speed using the training that Covetrus provided.” – Woofy’s on Kuhls

Book a live demo and see how you can improve your practice with Ascend.