Your Professional Command Centre
The Veterinarian Dashboard is intentionally minimal. Designed like a search engine rather than a traditional dashboard cluttered with widgets and statistics. This reflects professional veterinary workflow: you don't manage a fixed set of animals. You search for whichever animal needs care right now, regardless of where they are or who owns them.
The interface focuses on three core professional activities: searching for animals, accessing recent cases, and reviewing pending field observations that need your professional attribution to specific animals.
Dashboard Layout and Design Philosophy
Unlike owner dashboards that show property-specific overviews, statistics, and location summaries, the veterinary dashboard is minimal and search-focused:
At the top - A prominent search box where you spend most of your time. This is your primary navigation tool.
Quick action buttons - QR code scanner (for farm visits with printed QR codes on animal tags) and field observation creation (for GPS-tagged assessments).
Pending attributions widget - Shows how many unidentified field observations await your professional review to connect them to specific animals or groups.
Recent animals section - Collapsible list at the bottom showing animals you've recently accessed, for quick return to active cases.
Search results - Only appear when you perform a search, keeping the interface uncluttered when not actively looking for animals.
This Google-style minimal approach respects that veterinarians don't need dashboard complexity. You need fast, powerful search with immediate access to the animals requiring professional attention.
Advanced Animal Search
The search box supports multiple search strategies, automatically using intelligent matching to find animals across the entire Kora system:
Search by animal identifiers:
- Alias (animal name): "Bella", "Thunder", "Rhino #7"
- RFID tag numbers: "982000123456789"
- Ear tag numbers: "AU123456"
- Microchip numbers: "956000123456789"
- Breed: "Holstein", "Thoroughbred", "African Elephant"
- Animal type: "Cattle", "Horse", "Lion"
Search by owner information:
- Owner name: "Sarah Martinez", "Johnson Farm"
- Owner email: "sarah@example.com"
Search by location:
- Location name: "Green Valley Farm", "Wildlife Sanctuary North"
- City or region: "Nairobi", "Queensland"
Fuzzy matching - The search tolerates typos and partial matches. Searching "Holstin" finds Holstein cattle. "Thun" finds animals named Thunder. "982000" finds RFID tags starting with those digits.
Weighted results - Exact matches appear first, followed by prefix matches (starts with your query), then substring matches (contains your query), and finally fuzzy matches (close enough based on similarity algorithms).
Search Examples
Searching for a specific animal:
Search: "Bella"
Results:
1. Bella (Dog, Golden Retriever) - Owner: Martinez Residence
2. Isabella (Cat, Domestic Shorthair) - Owner: Thompson Home
3. Bellamy (Horse, Thoroughbred) - Owner: Riverside Stables
Exact name match appears first, followed by names containing "Bella."
Searching by RFID tag:
Search: "982000123456789"
Results:
1. Cow #147 (Cattle, Holstein) - Owner: Green Valley Dairy
RFID: 982000123456789
Direct RFID match provides immediate access to the specific animal.
Searching by breed:
Search: "Holstein"
Results showing all Holstein cattle across all properties:
1. Cow #147 - Green Valley Dairy
2. Bessie - Johnson Farm
3. Cow #203 - Meadowbrook Ranch
...showing 47 total results
Breed search finds all matching animals regardless of owner.
Fuzzy search with typo:
Search: "Afrcian Elephnt"
Results:
1. Tembo (African Elephant) - Safari Wildlife Reserve
2. Mara (African Elephant) - Conservation Centre
3. Jumbo (African Elephant) - Metro Zoo
System recognises the intended search despite misspellings.
Search Filters and Advanced Options
For more precise searches, click the filter icon to reveal advanced search options:
Animal Type Filter - Cattle, Horse, Sheep, Goat, Dog, Cat, Wildlife (many options)
Sex Filter - Male, Female, Unknown
Age Range - Minimum age, Maximum age (in months)
Location Search - Filter by specific location name or city
Owner Search - Filter by specific owner name or email
Recently Accessed - Show only animals you've viewed recently, or exclude recently viewed animals to focus on new cases
These filters combine with your search query to narrow results efficiently. For example, searching "Holstein" with age filter "24-60 months" finds adult Holstein cattle while excluding calves.
QR Code Scanner
Many farms attach QR codes to animal ear tags, gates, or housing areas for quick veterinary access. The QR scanner button opens your device camera to scan these codes:
How QR scanning works:
- Click QR scanner button on dashboard
- Point camera at QR code (on ear tag, gate sign, or housing area)
- System reads code and extracts animal identifier (usually the animal's unique GUID)
- Animal record opens automatically with complete medical history
If the QR code contains a URL or identifier Kora doesn't recognise, the content is used as a search query instead. Often still finding the right animal.
Mobile advantage - QR scanning works best on mobile devices with cameras. During farm visits, use your smartphone or tablet to quickly access animals without typing complex identifiers.
Manual entry option - If a QR code won't scan (damaged, dirty, poor lighting), you can manually enter the code content into the search box for the same result.
Field Observation Button
The "New Field Observation" button creates GPS-tagged observations for animals you're examining but can't immediately identify in Kora:
When to use field observations:
- Wildlife sightings during conservation work where you observe animals but don't have their individual records
- Herd assessments where you're recording general health of a group before identifying specific animals
- Emergency field work where immediate observation recording matters more than precise animal identification
- Community animal health work where animals may not yet be registered in Kora
What field observations capture:
- GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude, accuracy, elevation)
- Observation date and time
- Clinical findings and symptoms
- Photos of the animal or condition
- Severity assessment
- Your professional notes
Attribution later - Field observations enter the "pending attribution" queue where you can later assign them to specific animals or animal groups once identification is confirmed. This workflow supports mobile veterinary practice where you assess first and document precisely later.
Pending Attributions Widget
The pending attributions widget shows unidentified field observations awaiting your professional review:
Pending Attributions Widget:
📎 15 observations from 3 users pending review
[Click to open attribution queue]
What this represents:
When you or other veterinarians create GPS field observations without linking them to specific animals, they accumulate in the attribution queue. Someone (usually you or another veterinarian) needs to review these observations and connect them to the correct animals or animal groups.
Why attribution matters:
Unattributed observations are valuable clinical data disconnected from animal health records. Attributing them properly:
- Adds professional assessments to animals' permanent medical histories
- Enables complete health tracking and treatment continuity
- Supports biosecurity contact tracing (if observations include disease findings)
- Provides owners with comprehensive health documentation
- Creates traceability events for regulatory compliance
Attribution workflow is covered in detail in Section 20.6.
Recent Animals Access History
At the bottom of the dashboard, a collapsible section shows animals you've recently accessed:
What recent access shows:
Recent Animals (23)
[Click to expand]
Bella (Dog) - Thompson Residence
Accessed: March 15, 2:30 PM
Cow #147 (Holstein) - Green Valley Dairy
Accessed: March 15, 11:45 AM
Thunder (Horse) - Riverside Stables
Accessed: March 14, 4:15 PM
[Show all 23 recent animals]
Why this is useful:
During active caseload management, you frequently return to the same animals. Checking lab results, updating treatment plans, reviewing follow-up observations. Recent access list provides quick return without re-searching.
Recent access details:
- Animal name and type
- Owner/location
- When you last accessed the record
- How recently (prioritised by recency)
Collapsed by default - Keeps dashboard minimal. Expand when you need quick access to active cases.
Search Results Display
When you perform a search, results appear as cards showing essential information:
Animal result card shows:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Bella (Dog, Golden Retriever) │
│ Owner: Sarah Martinez │
│ Location: Martinez Residence, Brisbane │
│ │
│ Last accessed: March 10 (5 days ago) │
│ Reason: Annual vaccination consultation │
│ │
│ [View Record] [Quick Treatment] [Observation]
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Key information at a glance:
- Animal name, type, breed
- Owner name and email
- Location name and city
- Your last access (if you've seen this animal before)
- Quick action buttons for common workflows
Search result actions:
View Record - Opens the animal's complete medical history, health records, treatments, and observations.
Quick Treatment - Jumps directly to treatment recording interface (useful for vaccination visits or routine medication administration).
Quick Observation - Opens veterinary observation form for immediate clinical assessment recording.
Pagination and Large Result Sets
If your search returns many animals (searching "Holstein" might find hundreds across all properties), results are paginated:
Showing results 1-12 of 147 Holstein cattle
[← Previous] Page 1 of 13 [Next →]
Result limits:
- 12 animals per page (optimal for card-based layout)
- Sorted by search relevance (best matches first)
- Total count shown so you know search scope
Refining large searches:
If your search returns too many results:
- Add filters - Use animal type, age, sex, or location filters to narrow results
- Search more specifically - Add owner name or location to your query
- Use identifiers - RFID, ear tag, or microchip numbers provide precise results
Example: Instead of "Holstein" (147 results), search "Holstein Green Valley" (3 results at specific farm).
Desktop vs Mobile Dashboard Experience
Desktop dashboard features:
- Full keyboard search with instant suggestions
- Advanced filter panel always accessible
- Side-by-side result comparison
- Large screen makes reviewing many results efficient
- Multiple browser tabs for comparing different animals
Mobile dashboard features:
- Touch-optimised search interface
- QR scanner immediately accessible (camera integration)
- Bottom navigation bar for quick dashboard return
- Swipe gestures for navigating results
- Smaller result cards optimised for phone screens
- GPS auto-capture for field observations
Recommendation: Use mobile for field work (farm visits, QR scanning, GPS observations). Use desktop for clinic consultations, comprehensive case review, and complex searches across large animal populations.
Search Performance and Caching
The veterinary search system uses performance optimisations including:
Search suggestion caching - Common searches (breeds, animal types) are pre-cached for instant suggestions as you type.
Recent search results - Your recent searches are temporarily cached. Returning to the same search within minutes retrieves results instantly.
Fuzzy search optimisation - The system uses Levenshtein distance algorithms efficiently to provide typo-tolerant search without performance degradation on large databases.
Parallel processing - For installations with thousands of animals, search uses parallel query processing to maintain fast response times.
As a user, you don't need to understand these optimisations. You just experience fast, intelligent search regardless of system size.
Privacy and Access Boundaries
Although you can search the entire animal database, some boundaries apply:
You can view:
- Any animal's health record for legitimate professional purposes
- Complete medical history including previous veterinary observations
- Owner contact information (for professional communication)
- Location details and maps
You cannot view:
- Other owners' financial information
- Confidential breeding programme details (unless specifically granted access)
- Internal farm management notes marked as private
- Regulatory compliance details outside your professional scope
All access is logged:
- Every animal record you view
- Duration of access
- Actions you performed
- Access reason you provided
This logging creates professional accountability while enabling comprehensive clinical access.
Integration with Other Kora Features
The veterinary dashboard connects to broader Kora features:
From search results → Navigate to complete animal records (Chapter 8 Animal Management)
Clinical assessments → Create veterinary observations (Chapter 20.3)
Field observations → Record GPS-tagged assessments (Chapter 20.6)
Disease diagnoses → Trigger automatic contact tracing (Chapter 20.5, Chapter 11.3)
Lab test ordering → Initiate diagnostic workflows (Chapter 20.4)
Treatment recording → Document professional interventions (Chapter 10.2)
The dashboard is your entry point to these comprehensive professional workflows.