What Are Treatments?

Treatments are medical interventions administered to animals. Medications, vaccinations, wound care, parasiticides, and other therapeutic procedures. Recording treatments creates a permanent medical history for each animal.

Unlike observations (what you see), treatments are actions taken to address health concerns or prevent disease. Every treatment becomes part of the animal's lifetime health record.

Why Record Treatments?

Medical history: Complete treatment records support accurate veterinary diagnosis and care planning.

Prevent medication errors: Know what has been administered, when, and in what dose. This avoids dangerous duplications or interactions.

Withdrawal periods: For food-producing animals, track withdrawal periods ensuring safe human consumption.

Regulatory compliance: Many jurisdictions require documented treatment records for livestock, food animals, and endangered species.

Antimicrobial stewardship: Responsible antibiotic use tracking helps combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Cost tracking: Treatment records show medication usage and expenses over time.

Effectiveness evaluation: Compare treatments to outcomes, learning what works best for your animals.

Treatment Categories

Kora organises treatments into categories:

Antimicrobials - Antibiotics and antimicrobial medications (penicillin, tetracycline, fluoroquinolones, etc.)

Parasiticides - Treatments for internal and external parasites (dewormers, antiparasitics, tick and flea control)

Vaccines - Preventive immunisations (rabies, FMD, clostridial diseases, species-specific vaccines)

Off-Label - Medications used outside approved indications (requires veterinary authorisation in most jurisdictions)

Other Treatments - Everything else (pain relief, anti-inflammatories, wound care, supportive therapies)

Category selection helps with regulatory reporting, AMR tracking, and medication inventory management.

Recording Treatments: Basic Workflow

Step 1: Select the Animal

• Open animal record (search, scan QR, or select from list)
• Navigate to treatments section

Step 2: Create Treatment Record

• Click or tap "Record Treatment" or + button
• Treatment form opens

Step 3: Enter Treatment Details

Category: Choose treatment category (Antimicrobials, Parasiticides, Vaccines, etc.)

Medication Name: Enter medication name or select from approved medication list (if available)

• Some instances provide country-specific medication databases
• Type medication name if not in database

Treatment Date: When medication was administered (usually today)

Administered By: Who gave the treatment (your name, veterinarian, staff member)

Batch Number (optional but recommended): Medication batch or lot number for traceability

Product Expiration (optional): Medication expiry date

Notes (optional): Dosage, route of administration, reason for treatment, any observations

Step 4: Withdrawal Period (For Food Animals)

• If medication has withdrawal period, enter number of days
• Kora calculates safe slaughter or consumption date automatically
• Animal flagged until withdrawal period completes

Step 5: Save Treatment

• Click or tap "Save"
• Treatment recorded in animal's permanent medical history
• Withdrawal period tracking activated (if applicable)

Time required: 1 to 2 minutes

Treatment Plans for Scheduled Care

Treatment plans organise multi-dose or long-term treatment schedules. Especially useful for:

• Multi-day antibiotic courses (7-day treatment, daily doses)
• Vaccination series (primary vaccination + boosters)
• Chronic condition management (ongoing medication)
• Preventive care schedules (quarterly deworming)

Creating a treatment plan (high-level):

1. Create new treatment plan
2. Enter plan name (e.g., "7-day Antibiotic Course - Respiratory Infection")
3. Set start and end dates
4. Choose frequency (Daily, Weekly, Custom)
5. Link to animal
6. Save

How treatment plans work:

• Plan generates scheduled treatment dates
• Each scheduled date becomes a task or reminder
• When treatment is administered, record as individual treatment
• Treatment automatically links to plan
• Track completion progress (Day 1 of 7 done, Day 2 of 7 pending, etc.)

Individual treatments vs. treatment plans:

• Use individual treatments for one-off medications (single vaccination, emergency treatment, routine deworming)
• Use treatment plans for multi-dose schedules requiring tracking over time

Both approaches create the same permanent treatment records. Plans just add scheduling and progress tracking.

Medication Administration

Documenting administration details:

Dosage: Amount given (e.g., "5 mL", "2 tablets", "1 dose per label")

Route: How administered:

• Oral (by mouth)
• Injectable (subcutaneous, intramuscular, intravenous)
• Topical (pour-on, spray, ointment)
• Other (drench, bolus, feed additive)

Site (for injectables): Location of injection (neck, hindquarter, etc.)

Reason: Why treatment was given ("Diagnosed pneumonia", "Routine vaccination", "Wound infection")

Add these details in the treatment notes field for complete documentation.

Vaccination Schedules

Recording vaccinations:

1. Category: Vaccines
2. Medication Name: Vaccine name (e.g., "7-in-1 Clostridial Vaccine", "Rabies Vaccine")
3. Batch Number: Critical for vaccine traceability
4. Treatment Date: Vaccination date
5. Notes: Vaccination site, booster schedule, vaccine manufacturer

Tracking booster schedules:

• Use treatment plans for vaccination series
• Create plan: "Rabies Vaccination - Primary + 1-Year Booster"
• Scheduled dates remind you when boosters are due
• Complete vaccination history visible in animal record

Why vaccine batch numbers matter:

• Regulatory traceability for vaccines
• Product recalls traced via batch number
• Adverse event reporting requires batch identification

Withdrawal Periods

What are withdrawal periods? Withdrawal periods are the time required between administering medication to food-producing animals and when their meat, milk, or eggs can be safely consumed by humans.

Why they matter:

• Medication residues in food products are regulatory violations
• Withdrawal periods ensure consumer safety
• Non-compliance can result in penalties, product condemnation, and loss of market access

How Kora tracks withdrawal periods:

1. When recording treatment for food animal, enter withdrawal period (e.g., "28 days")
2. Kora calculates safe date automatically
3. Animal flagged with "Withdrawal Period Active" badge
4. Dashboard alerts show animals in withdrawal
5. After withdrawal period expires, flag removed automatically

Finding withdrawal periods:

• Check medication label
• Consult veterinarian
• Refer to regulatory authority databases (FDA, EMA, APVMA, etc.)
• Some Kora instances include country-specific medication databases with withdrawal periods pre-populated

Different withdrawal periods:

• Meat withdrawal: Days until animal can be slaughtered for human consumption
• Milk withdrawal: Hours or days until milk can be sold for human consumption
• Egg withdrawal: Days until eggs can be sold for human consumption

Record the appropriate withdrawal period based on your animal's purpose (meat, dairy, eggs).

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Tracking

High-level overview: Some antimicrobial treatments trigger additional AMR tracking. This documents responsible antibiotic use to combat antimicrobial resistance.

What AMR tracking includes (when enabled):

• Clinical justification for antibiotic use
• Diagnostic support (lab tests, clinical signs)
• Alternatives considered before using antibiotics
• Treatment outcome monitoring
• WHO antimicrobial classification (Access, Watch, Reserve categories)

For most users: Simply record the antimicrobial treatment as normal. If your instance has AMR tracking enabled, additional fields may appear for veterinary professionals.

Detailed AMR stewardship is covered in Chapter 19. For daily workflows, focus on accurately recording antimicrobial treatments. The system handles compliance tracking.

Treatment Examples Across Contexts

Example 1: Dairy Farm - Antibiotic Treatment

• Animal: Daisy (Cow A001)
• Category: Antimicrobials
• Medication: Penicillin Injectable
• Date: Today
• Administered By: Farm staff (under veterinary prescription)
• Batch Number: LOT-2024-11-A
• Withdrawal Period: 28 days (meat), 96 hours (milk)
• Notes: "Prescribed by Dr. Smith for respiratory infection. 5 mL IM, right neck, daily for 5 days. Treatment day 1 of 5."
• Result: Daisy flagged with withdrawal period, milk withheld for 4 days, treatment plan tracks remaining 4 doses

Example 2: Zoo - Routine Vaccination

• Animal: Tembo (African Elephant)
• Category: Vaccines
• Medication: Tetanus Toxoid Vaccine
• Date: Today
• Administered By: Zoo veterinarian
• Batch Number: VAC-2024-TET-09
• Notes: "Annual tetanus booster, 1 mL IM, left shoulder. No adverse reaction observed. Next booster due in 12 months."
• Result: Vaccination recorded, treatment plan created for next year's booster

Example 3: Wildlife Reserve - Parasiticide Treatment

• Animal: Juma (White Rhinoceros)
• Category: Parasiticides
• Medication: Ivermectin Pour-On
• Date: Today
• Administered By: Field veterinarian
• Batch Number: IVM-2024-08-B
• Notes: "Routine deworming during annual health check. Applied topically along spine. Quarterly deworming schedule."
• Result: Treatment recorded, next deworming scheduled in 3 months via treatment plan

Example 4: Veterinary Clinic - Pain Management

• Animal: Whiskers (Cat-2024-089)
• Category: Other Treatments
• Medication: Meloxicam (NSAID)
• Date: Today (post-surgery)
• Administered By: Veterinary nurse
• Batch Number: MEL-2024-05-C
• Product Expiration: 2025-12-31
• Notes: "Post-operative pain management. 0.1 mg per kg oral, once daily for 3 days. Day 1 of 3."
• Result: Treatment plan tracks 3-day course, owner instructions provided

Common Treatment Scenarios

Scenario 1: Single-Dose Vaccination

• Routine annual vaccination
• Record as individual treatment (Category: Vaccines)
• Include batch number
• Set reminder for next year's booster
• Takes 1 to 2 minutes

Scenario 2: Multi-Day Antibiotic Course

• Veterinarian prescribes 7-day antibiotic treatment
• Create treatment plan: "7-Day Antibiotic - Respiratory Infection"
• Record Day 1 treatment immediately
• Daily task reminders for Days 2 to 7
• Record each administration, linking to plan
• Plan shows completion progress (3 of 7 completed)

Scenario 3: Withdrawal Period Compliance

• Treat dairy cow with antibiotic (96-hour milk withdrawal)
• Record treatment with withdrawal period
• Kora flags cow's milk as "Do Not Use"
• Automatic alert when withdrawal period ends
• Resume milk production safely

Scenario 4: Routine Deworming Programme

• Quarterly deworming for livestock herd
• Create treatment plan: "Quarterly Deworming - All Cattle"
• Record first deworming treatment
• Plan generates reminders every 3 months
• Complete herd treatment history documented

Mobile vs. Desktop for Treatments

Desktop advantages:

• Detailed treatment documentation
• Creating complex treatment plans
• Reviewing historical treatments
• Batch treatment recording (treating multiple animals)

Mobile advantages:

• Record treatments immediately at point of care
• QR code scanning for quick animal selection
• Photo documentation (wound treatments, injection sites)
• Field work with limited connectivity

Recommended approach: Mobile for immediate documentation during treatment administration. Desktop for treatment plan creation and historical review.

Best Practices for Treatment Records

Record immediately after administration: Do not wait until end of day. Details get forgotten.

Include batch numbers: Essential for regulatory traceability and product recalls.

Document dosage and route: Future veterinarians need complete information.

Verify withdrawal periods: Check medication labels, consult veterinarian, or reference regulatory databases.

Use treatment plans for multi-dose schedules: Prevents missed doses and tracks completion.

Photograph unusual treatments: Visual documentation of wound care, application sites, before and after comparisons.

Note treatment outcomes: Did medication work? Any adverse reactions? Helps future treatment decisions.

Link to observations: Reference the observation that prompted treatment, creating complete clinical story.

Treatment History and Medical Records

Viewing treatment history:

• Open animal record
• Navigate to "Treatments" tab
• See chronological list of all treatments from birth

What treatment history shows:

• All medications administered
• Vaccination records
• Treatment dates and administrators
• Withdrawal period compliance
• Treatment outcomes (if documented)

Why complete history matters:

• Veterinarians review history before prescribing new treatments
• Prevents dangerous medication interactions
• Shows vaccination status for regulatory compliance
• Demonstrates responsible animal care during audits
• Supports insurance claims and legal disputes