instinct (vetmedux)

What instinct (vetmedux) does

VetMedux (formerly Brief Media, founded 2002) provides veterinary clinical education, point-of-care drug reference, and clinical decision support tools to veterinary professionals. The company operates three primary products: Clinician's Brief, a peer-reviewed educational publication ranked the #1 most essential publication for small animal veterinarians; Plumb's Veterinary Drugs, a digital drug reference with 32,000+ subscribers and a first-of-its-kind drug interaction checker; and Plumb's Pro, a premium tier bundling drug reference with diagnostic, treatment, and pet owner education content. Underlying technology is a cloud-based SaaS platform with native iOS/Android mobile applications, accessible via web and app stores. Following Instinct Science's January 2024 acquisition, the combined portfolio also includes Instinct EMR (cloud-based practice management software for advanced care and primary care hospitals), Instinct Treatment Plan (digital treatment sheets), Standards (diagnosis/treatment reference), and ScribbleVet (AI-powered clinical documentation scribe).

Revenue is generated through four streams: (1) annual SaaS subscriptions for Plumb's and Plumb's Pro starting at $95.84/user/year with enterprise licensing for academic institutions, practice groups, and pharmacies; (2) advertising and exclusive content sponsorships on Clinician's Brief (e.g., Antech Diagnostics for Clinical Skills, Covetrus for Client Relationships); (3) enterprise licensing for multi-seat academic and hospital deployments; and (4) data monetization via the Handraiser purchase-intent notification product targeting B2B animal health marketers. Go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve Plumb's subscriptions), sales-led enterprise contracts, channel partnerships with diagnostics and distribution companies, and event-driven presence at NAVC VMX and AVMA conventions. The combined entity reaches more than 260,000 veterinarians worldwide across four continents and serves 85,000+ animal caretakers in Instinct-powered hospitals.

The primary customer segments are small animal veterinarians, veterinary pharmacists and community pharmacies, corporate veterinary groups (PetVet Care Centers, VEG, NVA, Encore Vet Group, Greencross Vets, Apiam Animal Health, Curo Pet Care), veterinary universities and teaching hospitals, and animal health B2B marketers. Content is directed by practicing veterinarians and subject to anonymized peer review by board-certified specialists and pharmacists, with editorial independence from advertisers maintained as a stated policy.

Name

instinct (vetmedux)

Legal name

Educational Concepts, LLC

Website

https://briefmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Acquired

Short description

Instinct (VetMedux) provides cloud-based clinical education, drug reference, and point-of-care decision support tools—including Clinician's Brief, Plumb's, and Instinct EMR practice software—to over 260,000 veterinarians, pharmacists, and veterinary hospitals worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Veterinary Practice Management Software

NAICS

Veterinary Services (541940)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Veterinary EMR/EHR & Clinical Workflow (HLAMAMAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Veterinary Inventory, Pharmacy & Medication Management (HLAMAMAF), Veterinary Analytics, Reporting & Business Intelligence (HLAMAMAH)

Keywords

• Veterinary practice management
• Clinical decision support
• Veterinary drug references
• Continuing veterinary education
• Veterinary marketing intelligence

Headquarters

HQ city

Tulsa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue (Plumb's & Plumb's Pro): Annual SaaS subscriptions for Plumb's Veterinary Drugs and Plumb's Pro clinical decision support. Individual and team subscriptions for veterinarians, pharmacists, and students. Enterprise pricing available for academic institutions, practice groups, and pharmacies. Subscriptions start at $95.84 per user per year.
2. Advertising & Sponsorship (Clinician's Brief): Clinician's Brief is an educational resource supported by sponsors and advertisers aligned with its clinical mission. All advertising is subject to Clinician's Brief and Instinct Science approval. Exclusive sponsorship deals include Antech Diagnostics for Clinical Skills content and Covetrus for Client Relationships content.
3. Enterprise Licensing: Enterprise solutions are offered for academic institutions, veterinary practice groups, and community pharmacies, providing multi-seat or organization-wide access to Plumb's content and tools.
4. Marketing Services (Handraiser & Audience Intelligence): Handraiser product tracks real-time purchase intent among veterinarians, enabling B2B marketers to reach high-intent buyers. Additional audience survey and custom audience targeting services are offered to veterinary industry marketers seeking to engage specific veterinarian segments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

VetMedux, a division of Instinct Science, develops and sells veterinary education, point-of-care clinical reference, and practice-management software for veterinary teams and organizations. Its portfolio includes Clinician's Brief, Plumb's Veterinary Drugs, Plumb's Pro, and Instinct EMR products, with access through web, mobile, and integrated clinical workflows.

Product overview

Instinct Science Holdings operates a platform-plus-modules architecture. The company was formed through the January 2024 acquisition of VetMedux (formerly Brief Media), which now operates as a division of Instinct Science. The combined portfolio includes two major product families: (1) Clinical content and reference tools under the VetMedux division — Clinician's Brief (educational publication and clinical resources) and Plumb's Veterinary Drugs / Plumb's Pro (point-of-care drug reference and clinical decision support), with a first-of-its-kind drug interaction checker; and (2) Practice management software under the Instinct Science brand — Instinct EMR (cloud-based PIMS for advanced care), Instinct EMR for Primary Care (general practice variant), Instinct Treatment Plan (digital treatment sheets), Standards (diagnosis and treatment reference), and ScribbleVet (AI-powered scribe for clinical documentation). ScribbleVet is the only named AI capability across the portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Clinician's Brief: Essential educational resource for veterinary professionals providing clinical information, practice life content, and professional development tools
• Plumb's
• Plumb's Pro

Products and services

• Plumb's Veterinary Drugs A digital veterinary drug reference providing drug monographs, dosing information, safety alerts, and adverse-effect data to support point-of-care prescribing decisions by veterinary professionals.
• Plumb's Pro A premium clinical decision-support subscription combining Plumb's Veterinary Drugs with diagnostic guidance, treatment information, and pet-owner education resources for veterinary teams.
• Clinician's Brief A veterinary education resource curated by practicing veterinarians that provides clinical information, research reviews, daily quizzes, videos, and practice resources for veterinary professionals.
• Instinct EMR A cloud-based veterinary practice information management system for emergency, specialty, teaching, and other advanced-care hospitals, providing patient documentation, workflow automation, and revenue capture.
• Instinct EMR for Primary Care A veterinary practice information management system tailored to general and family-practice workflows, including charting, charge capture, and transition from paper- or server-based processes.
• Standards An expert-backed veterinary diagnosis and treatment reference providing clinical decision support to practicing veterinarians.
• Handraiser A marketing-intelligence product that tracks specific product-buying intent among small animal veterinarians and sends real-time notifications to animal-health marketers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75% of Plumb's subscribers use the product every day
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Instinct SciencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2024Instinct Science, a leading veterinary software provider, acquired VetMedux in January 2024. The acquisition brings together Instinct's cloud-based practice management software (Instinct EMR) and VetMedux's clinical content brands (Clinician's Brief and Plumb's) to create a unified platform for veterinary hospitals. Caleb Frankel, VMD, is CEO of the combined entity. Elizabeth Green remains as President of VetMedux. The acquisition approximately doubled Instinct's workforce.
• Mission RabiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2023Mission Rabies is a nonprofit organization working to eliminate rabies through mass dog vaccination. The Clinician's Brief team has partnered with Mission Rabies since 2016, volunteering at vaccination drives worldwide. The partnership has contributed to vaccinating over 140,000 dogs across multiple countries including Malawi, India, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cambodia. The company also supports rabies education programs for children in these communities.
• Antech DiagnosticsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 April 2023Antech Diagnostics signed as the exclusive sponsor of Clinician's Brief's expanded Clinical Skills content. This partnership enables the development of additional clinical skills educational materials while providing Antech with brand visibility among Clinician's Brief's veterinary professional audience.
• CovetrusminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 April 2023Covetrus is the exclusive sponsor of Clinician's Brief's new Client Relationships content. The partnership supports the development of resources helping veterinarians navigate client communication challenges, while providing Covetrus with targeted access to the veterinary professional audience.
• Donald C. Plumb, PharmDcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2021Donald C. Plumb, PharmD is the founder of Plumb's Veterinary Drugs. In 2015, VetMedux (then Brief Media) partnered with Dr. Plumb to launch the first in-the-workflow Plumb's digital platform. Following the Instinct Science acquisition in January 2024, Dr. Plumb joined Instinct as an advisor, continuing his involvement with the brand he created.
• Merck Animal Health (MSD Animal Health outside US/Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerck Animal Health provides Nobivac rabies vaccines for Mission Rabies vaccination campaigns, having donated over 1 million vaccines to date. The partnership enables large-scale rabies elimination efforts in developing countries, supporting both dog and human health outcomes.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Veterinary Information Network (VIN): VIN is the leading online community and continuing education platform for veterinarians, offering clinical discussion forums, CE courses, and reference libraries. It is the closest direct competitor to Clinician's Brief in veterinary clinical education and to Plumb's in clinical reference.
• Heska (Mars Science & Diagnostics): Heska, now part of Mars Petcare, provides in-clinic diagnostics and practice management software targeting veterinary hospitals. It is a direct competitor to Instinct EMR and a comparable seller of clinical workflow tools to the same small animal customer base.
• ezyVet: ezyVet is a cloud-based veterinary practice management system used by specialty and general practices globally. It is a direct peer to Instinct EMR in cloud PIMS, and competes for the same enterprise hospital customers that VetMedux serves with Plumb's content.
• PetDesk: PetDesk is a SaaS platform offering veterinary client communication, appointment management, and loyalty tools, and has expanded into practice management. It is a direct peer to Instinct for cloud-based veterinary workflow software serving small animal hospitals.
• AVImark (Covetrus): AVImark is a long-established veterinary practice management software sold primarily to small and mixed animal practices in North America, now part of Covetrus. It directly competes with Instinct EMR for the same independent practice customer base.

Broad incumbents

• IDEXX Laboratories: IDEXX is the dominant veterinary diagnostics company that also offers practice management software and reference lab decision support. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Instinct EMR at the PIMS layer and could compete with Plumb's through integrated lab-based clinical guidance.
• Covetrus: Covetrus is a major animal health distribution and technology company offering veterinary practice management software (AVImark, eVetPractice), practice marketing services, and pharmaceuticals. It is a broad incumbent competitor to both the Instinct PIMS business and the VetMedux clinical content/sponsorship business.
• Zoetis: Zoetis is the largest global animal health pharmaceuticals company, with a growing diagnostics and digital health portfolio (Vetscan, AI-driven tools). It is a broad incumbent competing indirectly via clinical decision support tools and via its sponsorship/advertising relationships with veterinarians.

Emerging players

• Vetster: Vetster is a veterinary telehealth and telemedicine platform connecting pet owners with licensed veterinarians. It is an emerging player addressing a related but distinct use case (virtual care) that intersects with VetMedux's point-of-care clinical decision support mission.

Others

• Merck Veterinary Manual: Merck Veterinary Manual is a free, online veterinary clinical reference resource from Merck & Co. that competes indirectly with Plumb's as a drug and disease reference for practicing veterinarians, and is sponsored by an animal health company that advertises on VetMedux properties.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/vetmedux

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about instinct (vetmedux)