Abstract
Veterinary medicine continues to face increases in caseloads and clinical demands that contribute to documentation burdens. Documentation is essential but frequently extends after hours, which causes a disruption to a work-life balance and plays a role in veterinarian stress and burnout. As a solution, artificial intelligence (AI) scribing has emerged in the medical profession as a tool to help reduce documentation time by “listening” to client-veterinarian interactions and turning them into organized note drafts for clinician review and editing. This paper examines how veterinary practices can successfully implement AI scribing to improve record quality, enhance client communication and satisfaction, and reduce veterinarian workload. While concerns of inaccuracy, data security, and integration exist, when introducing AI scribing properly into veterinary practices, the technology can support sustainable, high-quality veterinary care.
Introduction
Because people have gotten more animal companions, the caseload of the average veterinarian and the amount of time needed for documentation continues to increase. This has resulted in more documentation time spent outside scheduled working hours, contributing to fatigue and burnout. (Volk et al. 2022); (RCVS, 2021).
Accurate medical records are crucial as they note ongoing cases, serve as legal documents, and provide professional accountability. In the last few years, AI platforms have gained attention in the human and veterinary medicine fields as tools to streamline medical documentation. These platforms take audio input and transcribe conversations into structured documents, including Subject, Objective, Assessment, Plan (SOAP) notes. Introducing an AI Scribe platform can reduce time for documentation with potentially improved workflow efficiency and enhanced veterinarian well-being (Olson et al. 2025; Sasseville et al., 2025).
Problems Related to Documentation
On average, a veterinarian spends one to two hours per day working on documentation, often after scheduled work hours (Volk et al., 2022). After-work hours have been associated with decreased job satisfaction and increased stress. Burnout is highly prevalent in veterinary medicine, often leading to emotional exhaustion or reduced professional fulfillment. Increased workload, including in documentation, is one of the major contributors to stress, fatigue, and increased staff turnover (Volk et al., 2022; Moses et al.; 2018).
Documentation demands can also have negative effects on client-patient interactions. Veterinarians often spend much time looking at screens or printed intake forms. This reduces eye contact and personal engagement, which can weaken the clients’ trust and decrease satisfaction. Furthermore, when veterinarians rely solely on memory or have improperly recorded notes, they can miss crucial details, which can affect continued care and cause legal risk (Wogan, 2025).
Improvement in documentation can help with these issues and promote long-term career sustainability.
What is AI Scribe?
An AI scribe is a software program that uses audio input, speech recognition, and natural language processing to generate structured medical records of real time clinical conversations. The scribe software for human or veterinary medicine typically transcribes information into a SOAP format as a tool to supplement streamlined documentation. AI scribing, however, does not replace the veterinarian who remains responsible for reviewing, editing, and approving all documentation before finalizing medical notes. They also provide diagnoses and treatment plans.
AI scribing functionalities vary across multiple platforms. Some AI scribe systems integrate directly with the practice integration management system (PiMS), such as ScribbleVet and CoVet, while other systems require copy and paste like Otto Vet. Some systems use real time transcription (ScribbleVet, CoVet, and VetRec) while others generate structured notes after the visit finishes (Otto Vet). Understanding each system’s distinctions allows veterinarians and the practice to select the system that works best for the practice, staff, and workflow.
AI scribing in clinical settings can operate via a cell phone or computer. The visit can start and go on as usual: by collecting history, discussing findings, and creating a plan. The only difference is that, with consent, recording starts at the visit’s beginning. After the visit, the recording stops with the technology transcribing and processing information into structured medical notes. The veterinarian then reviews and edits the notes before finalizing and uploading the document into the clinic’s system. Practices may need brief training in the beginning, but there are multiple platforms designed for smooth integration into the clinic’s workflow.
Benefits of AI Scribes
Multiple benefits exist when introducing an AI Scribe within the veterinarian field. Automatically drafted notes reduce time spent on documentation, allowing veterinarians to complete medical notes within the scheduled workday—reducing or even eliminating time spent documenting after hours. Time saved per appointment may accumulate with the potential for veterinarians to see more patients or leave work earlier. (Olson et al., 2025). Reduced time spent on documentation can improve work-life balance and may enhance long-term career satisfaction.
AI reduces time on a computer or notebook during the visit, which allows veterinarians to devote more attention to physical exams and patient observation. History taking accuracy can improve because the AI scribe records the whole conversation between the client and veterinarian. This reduces reliance on recall and reduces the chance of missing key details of the visit and history. Another benefit of reducing computer time is the increased eye contact and engagement with the client, which can improve trust and satisfaction. AI scribe can also produce accurate and detailed documentation, which can benefit future visits and help to ensure continuity of care, especially with referrals or when the client moves.
Specialty, academic, and general practices can all benefit from AI Scribes. In high caseload environments, recordings allow clinicians to review case details later, potentially spotting mistakes with recall. This can particularly help if a veterinarian sees more than one patient in a short amount of time with no time in between to fine tune details. Using AI scribe platforms as a tool improves accuracy and reduces cognitive load. In academic settings, students can focus more on information provided in a lecture, lab, or clinical setting rather than trying to document all the information provided.
Financial Impact and Return on Investment
AI scribe platforms typically cost between $99 and $200 per clinician per month or $1,200 to $2,400 annually. Given that average exam fees range from $100 to $150, even a minor increase in appointment volume can offset subscription costs (CareCredit, 2026). Given the documentation reduced time, that time can be allocated to seeing more patients. Improved documentation may reduce legal risk and billing errors, further contributing to sustainability.
Comparison of AI Scribe Platforms
| Platform | Key Features | Practice Software Integration | Pricing (per clinician/month) | Primary Source |
| ScribbleVet | Customizable templates, visual dental charts, multilingual support, client summary emails, medical record summarization | Direct PiMS integration and 1-click transfer | $80–$140 | ScribbleVet (2026) |
| VetRec | Customizable medical notes, AI assistant, client communication tools, enterprise-level deployment, unlimited seats | Seamless PiMS integration | $99–$150 | VetRec (2025); VetRec (2026) |
| Otto Vet | Veterinarian-trained AI, mobile and desktop applications, customizable templates | Easy copy-paste into PiMS | $50–$160 | Otto Vet (2025) |
| Co.Vet | Filters medically relevant information, converts PDFs/audio/text into structured notes | Direct linkage with practice software | $99–$150 | Co. Vet (2026) |
ScribbleVet records conversations during appointments, using natural language processing to generate structured notes. After transcription, the veterinarian reviews and edits the draft notes. Once generated, the notes can transfer to the medical record with minimal manual input, reducing copy-paste errors and saving time (ScribbleVet 2026).
VetRec captures conversations in real time and generates medical notes. The notes can automatically be synchronized to the practice’s system (VetRec 2026). With the additional features of an AI assistant and client communication tools, this system suits high-volume practices, corporate veterinary groups, and multi-site practices (VetRec 2025).
Otto Vet generates structured SOAP notes after the appointment. The system relies on more manual workflows where the veterinarians copy and paste medical notes into their practice’s PiMS (Otto Vet, 2025). This gives the veterinarian more formatting and documentation placement control. For independent and smaller practices looking to implement an AI Scribe into their practice for a lower cost without complex software integration, Otto Vet may best suit them.
Co. Vet emphasizes the focus on filtering medically relevant information during the conversation as well as text and uploaded files (Co.Vet, 2026). The direct linkage with the practice’s software allows Co.Vet to transfer notes into the PiMS with minimal manual intervention. (Co.Vet 2026). Practices with complex cases, referrals, or large volumes of external medical records may benefit most from this application.
All these platforms have the goal of reducing documentation in a clinical setting. Clinical studies evaluating AI scribe use in healthcare reports time savings of five to fifteen minutes per patient (Alpert et al.,2025; Olsen et al.,2025; Sassevile et al.,2025). The range depends on the case and its complexity as well as user familiarity with the platform.
Concerns and Limitations
With any technology, discrepancies and inaccuracies can arise—especially with audio input because of background noise or speech variations. Successful implementation requires training and patience to ensure successful workflow adjustments. Plus, AI use may require a learning curve for veterinarians, nurses, assistants, and CSRs.
Although many AI Scribe platforms emphasize data security, encryption, and ethical use, formal regulatory guidance about AI scribing in veterinary medicine is still evolving. Unlike human medicine with more regulated systems for clinical AI, veterinary medicine has limited established standards and best-practice guidelines. Veterinarians must rely more on their personal judgement, obtain informed client consent, and keep up to date on guidelines emerging from the veterinary regulatory bodies and professional organizations. Continuous evaluations of how a platform performs, how practices handle data, and ethical considerations are important as AI technology continues to evolve in the veterinary field (Dunwoodie, 2025).
Ethical and Liability Considerations
AI can improve efficiency, but that does not replace legal and ethical responsibilities of the veterinarian, only functioning as a tool. Veterinarians remain responsible for the accuracy of medical records and patient care [AVMA], 2023; Char et al., 2018)—of reviewing, validating, and approving the documents generated by AI without solely relying on them. Failure to appropriately review and edit medical notes can expose the veterinarian to professional liability if inaccuracies contribute to patient harm or misrepresentation of care (Topol, 2019).
Medical records serve as evidence in professional liability claims and regulatory proceedings. Documents created by AI scribe software will therefore still receive scrutiny as if a veterinarian made those medical records. Errors or missing information in the finalized record can undermine a veterinarian’s legal or professional defense.
Informed consent is still a legal and ethical obligation in veterinary practice. AI scribes cannot ensure that consent discussions meet ethical or legal standards. Veterinarians remain responsible for obtaining and documenting consent accurately, especially with cases that involve surgical procedures, euthanasia, or declined treatments (AVMA, 2023). Veterinarians remain responsible for medical record reviews for accuracy and omission of information.
AI scribing platforms raise data and confidentiality concerns. Veterinary practices remain responsible for protecting client information. Regulatory guidance emphasizes that businesses are responsible for safeguarding client data, ensuring transparency including whether clinical data trained AI systems. (Federal Trade Commission [FTC], 2023); Rieke et al., 2020.)
Conclusion
AI scribe tools can help to reduce documentation burnout and can improve veterinarian well-being. When implemented ethically and responsibly, AI scribing can enhance client interactions, patient care, and documentation quality. While AI scribes do not replace the veterinarian, they can be a valuable tool to support modern veterinary practices. Ethical and liability considerations must remain at the forefront to ensure that patient and client information stay secure and accurate, used to provide the best care possible.
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