Veterinarians who invite clients into the decision-making process — rather than delivering a one-way message — see greater satisfaction, trust, and treatment adherence, according to Dr. Jason Coe, who delivered the practical guidance during his keynote talk at the 2026 AVMA Veterinary Economic and Business Forum.

The claim is straightforward: how a veterinarian communicates changes what a client does after the visit. Coe, who has built his career on veterinary communication research and education, framed the issue in economic and clinical terms for a forum audience of practice owners and managers.

What changes at the exam table?

The core distinction Coe drew was between a one-way delivery of information and a two-way, relationship-centered exchange. In the first model, the veterinarian states a diagnosis and a treatment plan, and the client either accepts it or quietly departs. In the second, the client participates in the decision.

That difference carries measurable weight in outcomes. Coe said the relationship-centered approach produces three specific gains: greater client satisfaction, greater trust, and greater adherence to treatment plans. Adherence is the figure that matters most to practice economics, because a plan the client does not follow generates no clinical result and no revenue.

The takeaway in plain words: practices that talk with clients, rather than at them, get plans that clients actually carry out.

What did Coe recommend in practice?

His keynote was explicitly practical. He offered concrete advice on how to implement relationship-centered communication in routine clinical work, positioning the method not as a personality trait but as a learnable skill set for the veterinary team.

The forum setting matters. The AVMA Veterinary Economic and Business Forum concentrates on the business side of the profession, and Coe placed communication squarely within that frame. For practice leaders, the argument runs: train the team in shared decision-making, and adherence, satisfaction, and trust follow.

The takeaway: communication technique belongs on the practice-management agenda, alongside pricing and staffing.

Why does this matter now?

Trust has become a live issue across the profession. Clients increasingly expect to be consulted, and the veterinarian-client relationship sits at the center of both clinical outcomes and practice financial health. A forum keynote devoted to communication signals that the AVMA's economic programming treats the client relationship as an operational asset, not a soft aside.

For companion-animal practice, where treatment plans depend heavily on owner follow-through at home — medication schedules, recheck visits, dietary changes — adherence is where communication either pays off or fails. Food-animal and equine contexts carry their own version of the same dynamic, where the client's buy-in determines whether a protocol reaches the herd or the barn.

The takeaway: the same communication principle applies wherever the animal's care sits in the client's hands after the visit.

What is the forward view?

Coe's message leaves practices with a defined next step: audit how treatment decisions are currently made in the exam room, and shift toward a process that invites the client in. The 2026 forum program, by giving the topic a keynote slot, suggests the profession's economic leadership will keep returning to the link between communication quality and practice performance.