What LVS 2025 Taught Us About the Future of Veterinary
Now that LVS 2025 is behind us, we’ve had a bit of time to reflect on everything that came to life in the Modern Veterinary Practice Theatre.
This year, our theme was The Future of Veterinary. And across two days of sessions, one thing came through loud and clear: the future isn’t just about the tools we adopt – it’s about the people, the culture, and the connections that shape how care is delivered.
Even without a formal day-by-day overview, each individual session added a vital piece. When you step back and look at them together, a few clear themes emerge.
1) The future of client experience is emotional, seamless, and transparent
We opened with a powerful reminder that clients don’t make decisions purely logically. Most decisions are driven by subconscious feelings, not clinical reasoning – which means the environment we create, the way we frame choices, and the small details we often overlook are doing more work than we think.
Layer onto that the rapid shift in client expectations: people now live digitally, and they expect the veterinary relationship to feel the same. The strongest practices will be the ones that blend digital convenience with a deeply personal, data-driven relationship.
Day 2 brought this into sharp focus again with CMA transparency. Pricing isn’t just compliance – it’s trust. Clear, accessible information helps pet owners feel confident, respected, and informed. And that confidence is part of the care journey.
What this means for practice teams:
The future client experience is built on how clients feel. Seamless digital touchpoints, thoughtful in-practice communication, and transparent pricing aren’t “extras” anymore – they’re core to loyalty, trust, and better animal welfare.
2) Team culture and leadership aren’t side topics – they’re the foundation
Technology may be evolving quickly, but the practice environment still determines whether teams thrive or burn out. Day 1 repeatedly highlighted that healthy culture comes from two things:
psychological safety and significance.
In other words: do people feel safe to speak up, and do they feel their work matters?
We also heard something more personal and more essential: the future of veterinary care will be stronger if we stop chasing an impossible idea of perfection. The profession doesn’t need “golden professionals.” It needs human professionals, supported by connection and compassion.
Day 2 reinforced the reality that leading in constant change takes self-leadership, resilience, and the willingness to embrace uncertainty with a positive mindset. The best leaders will be the ones who can adapt, stay grounded, and bring teams with them, even when the path isn’t obvious.
What this means for practice teams:
The future of veterinary practice is as much about how we lead and support each other as it is about clinical or digital innovation. Culture and wellbeing aren’t separate from progress – they’re what makes progress sustainable.
3) Technology must earn its place by protecting time, not adding pressure
Across multiple sessions, there was a shared call to action: practice owners and teams need to be more interrogative about tech. Ask harder questions. Demand clarity. Hold suppliers accountable for whether a tool truly helps your business, your team, and your clients.
We also explored the shift from “systems of record” to “systems of action” – moving away from software that simply digitises admin, towards AI-enabled tools that reduce workload invisibly in the background. The vision is software as a trusted co-worker, not another task.
And crucially, digital adoption belongs to the whole team. Veterinary nurses, in particular, were encouraged to lean into digital tools as part of their professional evolution – because better digital literacy means better workflows, communication, and care.
What this means for practice teams:
The right technology should simplify, automate, and give time back. If it doesn’t do that, it’s not future-fit. The most successful practices won’t chase every new tool – they’ll choose tech that strengthens care and protects their people.
4) AI is coming fast – and the future depends on using it responsibly
AI was a major thread on Day 2, and the message was balanced and grounded: yes, AI can transform efficiency, engagement, and outcomes – but only if we keep the human side of veterinary medicine front and centre.
We heard a consistent call for responsible adoption:
- be clear about limitations
- stay critical and curious
- keep humans in the loop
- protect privacy and data integrity
- train future vets to appraise AI properly
This isn’t about resisting change. It’s about making sure change supports clinical judgement, not replaces it.
One especially encouraging point was the opportunity for independent practices. Their agility means they can adopt the right AI tools faster and more flexibly – gaining a genuine advantage in service, workflow, and care quality.
What this means for practice teams:
AI is part of the future, but the future stays humane only if we adopt it with oversight, ethics, and purpose. Used well, it lightens the load and strengthens decision-making. Used blindly, it risks trust.
A final reflection
Across every session, the same idea kept resurfacing:
the Future of Veterinary is not something that happens to us – it’s something we build together.
We build it through the experiences clients have with us.
Through the cultures we shape in practice.
Through the questions we ask of technology.
Through the responsible way we bring new tools into care.
And through the connections we make in spaces like LVS.
Thank you
A huge thank you to every speaker, partner, and attendee who helped bring the MVP Theatre to life this year. Whether you were on stage, in the audience, or part of the conversations between sessions – you helped shape something meaningful.
And if there’s one thing LVS 2025 made clear, it’s that our profession is full of people who care deeply about what comes next.
Because the future is already being written – and it looks bright.
