Beyond Basic Recording

Chapter 7 introduced essential daily workflows. These include recording observations, managing tasks, documenting movements, and logging basic treatments. Chapter 10 expands on health and treatment features. This shows how daily activities build into comprehensive health management systems. These systems support clinical decision-making, welfare assessment, and preventive care.

This chapter explores the depth of health observation and treatment capabilities. It introduces veterinary-specific diagnostic features. It explains how automated health assessments monitor animal wellbeing systematically.

What This Chapter Covers

Observations System (10.1) - Deep dive into observation types, severity classification, veterinary observations with clinical diagnostic features, and follow-up workflows

Treatment Administration (10.2) - Individual and mob treatments, treatment plans for scheduled care, and medication inventory integration

Health Assessments (10.3) - Five-Domain welfare assessments, health scoring systems, and automated risk alerts

The Health Management Ecosystem

Health management in Kora operates on multiple levels simultaneously:

Daily observations capture what you see. The animal limping, eating less, behaving unusually. These observations create the raw data feed documenting animal condition.

Veterinary observations add clinical depth. These include diagnoses, differential diagnoses, lab test results, prognosis assessments, and treatment recommendations. Licensed veterinarians record professional evaluations building on staff observations.

Treatments document medical interventions. These include medications administered, vaccinations given, and procedures performed. Treatment records create medical history supporting regulatory compliance and clinical decision-making.

Health assessments systematise welfare evaluation. Structured assessments across five welfare domains produce objective scores. These domains are Nutrition, Environment, Health, Behaviour, and Mental state. The scores track animal wellbeing over time.

These components work together. Observations trigger veterinary consultations. Veterinary diagnoses guide treatments. Treatments influence health assessment scores. Health assessments identify animals needing closer observation. The system is interconnected, not siloed.

From Reactive to Proactive

Traditional animal health management is reactive. Respond when animals are obviously sick. Kora supports proactive health management through early detection, systematic monitoring, and automated alerts.

Early detection happens when regular observations reveal subtle changes before crises develop. "Slight appetite reduction" documented today, combined with "lethargy" tomorrow, might prompt early veterinary consultation preventing serious illness.

Systematic monitoring comes from health assessments scheduled regularly. Weekly welfare evaluations across five domains identify declining scores. This prompts intervention before welfare is compromised.

Automated alerts occur when health scoring systems detect concerning patterns. These include rapid weight loss, repeated high-severity observations, declining welfare scores, or biosecurity risks. The system flags animals requiring attention you might otherwise miss in large populations.

This shift from reactive crisis response to proactive prevention improves animal welfare. It reduces treatment costs and supports better health outcomes.

Clinical vs Non-Clinical Observations

Kora distinguishes between everyday staff observations and professional veterinary observations. Both remain in the same animal record.

Staff observations (Chapter 7.1 basic workflow):

• What anyone working with animals can record
• "Animal limping on left front leg"
• "Not eating breakfast"
• "Lying down more than usual"
• Simple descriptions of visible conditions

Veterinary observations (covered in 10.1):

• Professional clinical assessments by licensed veterinarians
• Formal diagnoses
• Differential diagnoses considered
• Diagnostic test orders and results
• Prognosis and treatment plans
• Prescriptions
• Public health considerations (zoonotic disease flags)

Both observation types appear in the animal's health history timeline. Staff observations provide context and early warning. Veterinary observations provide diagnostic certainty and clinical direction.

Treatment Tracking Depth

Treatment records (Chapter 7.4 covered the basics) expand beyond simple medication logging. They support:

Treatment plans - Multi-dose schedules with automated reminders (7-day antibiotic course, vaccination series, chronic condition management)

Mob treatments - Collective treatment administration (entire flock vaccinated, group deworming)

Medication databases - Country-specific approved medications with withdrawal periods pre-populated

Follow-up tracking - Ensuring scheduled treatments are completed and monitoring treatment response

AMR stewardship - Antimicrobial usage tracking supporting responsible antibiotic use (detailed in Chapter 19)

Treatment administration workflows balance efficiency with comprehensive documentation. Quick recording for routine treatments. Detailed records for complex cases.

Welfare Assessment Framework

Health assessments use the Five-Domain welfare model. This is an internationally recognised framework evaluating animal wellbeing across:

1. Nutrition - Water access, feed quality, body condition

2. Environment - Space, shelter, substrate, temperature comfort

3. Health - Injury or disease absence, preventive care status

4. Behaviour - Natural behaviours, social interactions, absence of abnormal patterns

5. Mental - Positive emotional states, environmental engagement, responsiveness

Each domain receives a score. Typically a 1-5 scale (1 equals poor, 5 equals excellent). Overall welfare score calculated from domain scores. This may use average or weighted calculation. Regular assessments track welfare trends. They identify improvements or declines requiring intervention.

This structured approach transforms subjective assessments. "The animal seems fine" becomes objective, comparable welfare data.

Desktop vs Mobile for Health Management

Desktop excels at:

• Veterinary observations with extensive diagnostic detail
• Treatment plan creation and management
• Health assessment data entry with multiple domains
• Reviewing complete health history timelines
• Analysing welfare trends over time
• Lab test result entry and review

Mobile works well for:

• Quick staff observations in the field
• Recording treatments immediately after administration
• Photo documentation of injuries or conditions
• GPS-tagged field observations
• Quick health checks and visual assessments
• Checking treatment schedules and compliance

Complex clinical work happens on desktop. Field documentation and routine recording happen on mobile. Both sync to the same comprehensive health record.

Integration with Other Features

Health and treatment management connects deeply with other Kora features:

Animal Management (Chapter 8): Health history, weight tracking, and reproductive records integrate with animal profiles and smart badges. Quarantine Smart Badge shows health status. Weight Smart Badge integrates with nutrition domain scores.

Maps (Chapter 9): GPS-tagged observations appear on maps. This shows where health issues occurred geographically. Useful for identifying environmental health risks.

Biosecurity (Chapter 11): Veterinary diagnoses of contagious diseases automatically trigger contact tracing. They identify exposures and recommend quarantine.

Traceability (Chapter 12): All observations, treatments, and health assessments create traceability events. These document lifetime health management.

Tasks (Chapter 7.2): Health assessments requiring follow-up auto-generate tasks. Veterinary recommendations become actionable task lists.

Health management is not isolated. It weaves throughout the entire animal management system.

Learning Approach for This Chapter

Section 10.1 explores the observations system in depth. This includes everyday observations, veterinary clinical observations, severity classification, and follow-up workflows. Builds on Chapter 7.1's basic observation workflow with professional features.

Section 10.2 covers treatment administration workflows. For individuals and mobs, treatment plans for scheduled care. How medication databases support treatment recording. Expands Chapter 7.4's basic treatment concepts.

Section 10.3 introduces health assessments. Five-Domain welfare scoring, automated health monitoring, risk alert systems, and welfare trend analysis.

Work through sections based on your role. Veterinarians will focus heavily on 10.1's clinical features. Farm managers on 10.2's treatment workflows. Welfare-focused operations on 10.3's assessment systems. All users benefit from understanding the complete health management ecosystem.