Media & Press

On this week's show we are back at Myrtle Beach, S.C. for the ACTHA Ride at Lakewood Campground.

Mosquitoes could be a big problem in our area this summer. That could lead to serious health issues and not just for humans.

The rumbling of a combine with a hopper full of freshly harvested, golden corn in an Effingham field is a reminder of the great growing season the Pee Dee has had, with a warm winter allowing farmers to plant earlier to benefit from rains that lasted through the summer.

On this week's show we are in Kingstree, S.C. for the Kingstree Trials Horse Race.

A Grand Strand veterinarian is reporting an alarming increase this summer in a disease that's deadly to horses.

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Dozens of horses at the Rock Smith Farm in Myrtle Beach are being monitored following the deaths of several others in Horry County from equine encephalitis.

It's not the recent horse ride on the beach for charity that has some beachgoers complaining – it's what's left behind.

Three young veterinarians dispense the lessons they have learned as new practice owners.

Bizarre footage has emerged showing vets using unusual techniques to relax huge pigs using cutlery.

Do you remember when you were in school, when you used to want to be friends with the cool kids? Turns out decades later those kids weren’t really that cool, and your real friends, the ones that you still keep in contact with today are sometimes the ones you least expected.

Integrative discussions with the people that Inspire, Encourage and Challenge the Veterinary Profession. Hosted by vet student, Moriah.

In today's episode I talk with a good friend, Dr. Karen Bolten. Today, Karen shares her story of selling her equine practice to pursue her degree in business.

Earlier this year, Walmart announced the opening of more veterinary clinics in stores across the US, as well as the launch of an online pet pharmacy.

When I was in vet school, we had what I recall as some sort of client communication training.

On this episode of "The Heist," Dr. Karen Bolten (The Business Vet) joins the show to talk about the mental toll of veterinary practice ownership, the decision to go back to business school, pricing and hiring strategies, and how value chain analysis can transform how we view human capital.

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Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Karen Bolten (The Business Vet), where we dive deeper into the mental health challenges of veterinary practice ownership, strategic hiring, pricing structures, the decision to pursue business school, and how value chain analysis reshapes our view of human capital.

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By definition, branding encapsulates higher-level marketing messages about who you are, what you do, and why you do it. Your brand should reflect your values and mission as providers of pet health services.

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Karen Bolten from The Business Vet joins to discuss the business side of veterinary marketing, her career journey, and tips for using Instagram to grow a veterinary practice audience.

Dr. Mike Pownall joins marketing specialists including Dr. Karen Bolten to discuss the what, why, when, and how of veterinary marketing strategies, goals, campaigns, and indicators of success.

Struggling with veterinary medical records? Dr. Karen Bolten explains how to streamline the process using Chat GPT technology, enhance speed and efficiency, and minimize the learning curve.

Panel discussion on how veterinary practices can thoughtfully adopt technology to support their teams, build client trust, and protect the human-animal-vet bond without sacrificing compassion.

The vast sea of AI software, integrations, and standalone tools can feel overwhelming, but you don’t have to implement them all at once. Consider starting small and with intentionality to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks.

In this article, we explore the most common ways AI is being used today, how it’s redefining roles across the veterinary team, and the essential skills clinics will need to thrive in an AI-enabled future.

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine brings with it the potential to touch – and even transform – every area of life in the clinic, from client communication to diagnostics. In the area of practice management, AI has the power to make teams more efficient and reduce stress. So, how can veterinary teams integrate AI tools in a way that improves efficiency without compromising connection?

Veterinary practices have largely transitioned to digital operations, resulting in the generation of more data than ever before. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine – and in many other aspects of our lives – only increases our responsibility to protect the data that powers and is produced by AI platforms. In this article, we examine what it takes to build a secure, compliant veterinary practice while integrating AI safely into daily workflows.

From startup struggles during a recession to leading AI innovation in veterinary medicine, Dr. Karen Bolten shares a powerful story about transformation and tech. Dive into the practical ways AI is changing how vets work—and why it’s critical to embrace this shift now or risk falling behind.

discover what the future truly demands of veterinary practices. From evolving regulations and cultural shifts to rising client expectations and rapid innovation, today’s clinics face more complexity than ever. This powerful webinar brings together five industry leaders for a high-impact, solution-focused conversation on the pillars that define future-ready practices.

From scribes to diagnostics and daily task management, more artificial intelligence (AI) tools seem to enter the veterinary market every day. Flashy marketing and lofty promises might catch your attention, but how can you determine which of these tools is worth trying, and which could cause more trouble than they’re worth?

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Everyone seems to be talking about AI, but far fewer people feel confident actually using it. The VetPartners three-part webinar series, "AI at Work," will help close that gap. The first session , focused on large language models (LLMs), was held on May 27 and drew a large audience.


The webinar was a panel Q&A hosted by Adam Wysocki, founder of VetSoftwareHub.com, with four members who each bring a different angle to the conversation:


Karen Bolton, DVM, MBA, BSBA: Harvard-trained in AI implementation in healthcare; founder of The Business Vet and vetmedicine.ai

Tracey Johnson, MBA: Veterinary executive with 25+ years’ experience in general practice and multi-facility hospital management

Lauren Jones, VMD: Practice owner and Director of Veterinary Medicine at Shepherd Veterinary Solutions

Katie Jackson, DVM: Small animal veterinarian, AI builder, and educator known as "the AI vet" on social media

A 3-part panel series introducing VetPartners members to practical use of large language models in veterinary
practice operations, consulting engagements, and day-to-day professional work. Each session features three
working practitioners or consultants and builds on the last, moving from first-time users to confident power
users. No vendor pitches and no hype, just grounded, hands-on guidance from people using these tools in the
veterinary industry today. Attendees will leave each session with specific workflows they can try the same day.
Format
• Three one-hour webinars, each a panel of three experts.
• Progressive difficulty: absolute beginner, moderately comfortable, power user.
• Live Q&A at the end of each session.
• Suggested panel mix: one practice-side practitioner, one consultant or operator, one vendor-side voice.
Rotate faces, keep the pattern consistent.

Webinar 1: Getting Started

Audience: Absolute Beginner
Goal: Demystify what an LLM is, help attendees choose where to start, and send them home with five things
they can try Monday morning.

1. What an LLM actually is, and what it isn't.

When a veterinary professional types a question into ChatGPT, what is actually happening under the hood, and why does that matter for how they should use it?
2. The main players and what each is good at: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok, Copilot.

If you had to recommend one LLM to a practice owner who has never used any of them, which would it be and why?
Where does each one shine, and where does each one fall down?
3. Free versus paid tiers, and what you actually get for twenty dollars.

Is a free tier good enough for professional work, or is paying table stakes?
4. Your first ten prompts.

What is the single best prompt a practice manager could run tomorrow to see value immediately?
5. Where LLMs fail, and how to spot it.

What is the most dangerous mistake you have seen someone make by trusting an LLM output they should have verified?
6. The use cases veterinary professionals most often underestimate.

What is a use case you keep recommending that attendees seem surprised by?

Webinar 2: Working With LLMs

Audience: Moderately comfortable, some familiarity
Goal: Move attendees from casual chat to real deliverables, focused on the work veterinary professionals and consultants actually do.

7. Security and data privacy for veterinary practices

What data should never be pasted into a consumer chatbot, and what are the practical alternatives for practices that need to work with sensitive information?
Walk us through free, paid, team, and API deployments in terms of data privacy. What does a typical practice actually need?
8. Contracts, leases, and legal document review

Give us your exact workflow for reviewing a commercial lease or employment contract. Where do you still need a human or a lawyer in the loop?
9. P&L analysis, financial modeling, and board packets

Show us how you would use an LLM to analyze a twelve-month P&L for a veterinary practice. What does the first prompt look like, and what does the fifth prompt look like?
10. Marketing content, SOPs, and training materials

What is the difference between content that obviously sounds like AI and content that doesn't? How do you get to the latter?
11. Projects, memory, custom instructions, and reusable setups

What belongs in a Project or custom instruction set, and what does not?
12. Verifying outputs and catching hallucinations

What is your personal checklist for deciding whether an LLM output is good enough to use?
13. Voice and document workflows

What is the best way to get an LLM to actually read a 60-page PDF correctly?

Artificial intelligence (AI) may have started as a novelty for many veterinary professionals, but as AI tools become more capable, the opportunities to use them in veterinary businesses are expanding well beyond one-off prompts.

During the second installment of VetPartners’ AI webinar series, moderator Adam Wysocki was joined by several panel members to explore practical ways veterinary professionals can put AI to work:

Karen Bolton, DVM, MBA, BSBA: Harvard-trained in AI implementation in healthcare; founder of The Business Vet and vetmedicine.ai

Tracey Johnson, MBA: Veterinary executive with 25+ years’ experience in general practice and multi-facility hospital management

Katie Jackson, DVM: Small animal veterinarian, AI builder, and educator known as "the AI vet" on social media

The panel discussed everything from protecting sensitive information to reviewing contracts, analyzing financials, creating standard operating procedures (SOPs), developing marketing content, and building customized AI workflows.

Today's pet owners walk into appointments more informed than ever, but not always with the right information. This session will explore how practices can cut through misinformation and deliver clear, confident client education that leads to better understanding and higher case acceptance. You'll learn practical communication strategies to simplify complex care, build trust quickly, and guide clients toward the right decisions. Designed for busy teams, this session focuses on real-world approaches that improve both patient outcomes and practice performance.

Do you ever wonder whether an AI tool is giving safe, unbiased, or trustworthy recommendations, or how you'd even know? This session breaks down the essential ethical issues behind today's veterinary AI tools in clear, practical language, including how they're built, where risk enters the workflow, and how everyday users can spot trouble early. You'll learn to recognize common warning signs, understand how tool design can influence clinical decisions, and apply a simple, clinic-friendly framework for making ethical choices. Walk away confident in how to evaluate whether an AI tool is truly appropriate for your patients, your team, and your practice.

Do AI tools feel confusing, overwhelming, or difficult to trust in everyday practice? This beginner-friendly session breaks down the essential categories of veterinary AI, including medical record automation, client communication tools, decision-support systems, and diagnostic interpretation, using clear, non-technical language. Attendees will explore what these tools actually do, see practical examples of where they help, and review real-world research demonstrating improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and clarity. You'll leave with simple, low-cost ways to try AI safely in your own workflow and a clear understanding of which tools are worth exploring next.

Do you want to use AI in your clinic but don't have the time, budget, or tech experience to get started? This session shows how free and low-cost AI tools can help busy veterinary teams create useful resources, such as client communication aids, operational templates, training materials, and workflow shortcuts. You'll see practical examples of how simple prompts can turn everyday practice challenges into creative AI-powered solutions. You'll leave with ready-to-use strategies and accessible tools you can apply immediately in your clinic.

AI tools are entering veterinary medicine quickly, but many clinics still aren't sure how to judge which ones are accurate, safe, or worth adopting. This session introduces a clear, non-technical framework for evaluating AI scribes, communication tools, diagnostic platforms, and other emerging solutions. You'll learn how to assess risks, ask the right vendor questions, recognize red flags, and determine whether a tool truly fits your team's workflow. You'll leave with a repeatable evaluation process you can use immediately when reviewing AI tools for your clinic.