Method and system for providing animal health histories and tracking inventory of drugs

• US 5,315,505 A
• Filed: 01/29/1992
• Issued: 05/24/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micro Beef Technologies Ltd (MWI Veterinary Supply Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Micro Chemical Inc.
• Inventors: Pratt, William C., McKillip, William D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Baker, Stephen M.
• Application Number:
  US07/827,843
• Time in Patent Office: 846 Days
• Field of Search: 364/413.01
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 11/006 Automatic identification systems for animals, e.g. electronic devices, transponders for animals identification systems for access to feeding pens A01K1/0209; ear tags with electronic identification means A01K11/004
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 5/02 Automatic devices automatic identification devices for stock A01K11/006
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics

Abstract

A method and system for providing improved drug treatment to selected animals in a retained group. Through the use of a computer system, an operator is immediately provided with the health and drug treatment history of an animal to be treated by identifying the animal. With this information and a diagnosis of the animal'"'"'s health condition, a drug treatment is chosen. The diagnosis and treatment are entered into the computer system to update the animal'"'"'s health and treatment history. If a drug treatment has a withdrawal time which requires the animal to remain in the group for a time after treatment, a release date is calculated. If a dosage of a drug treatment is weight-dependent, the weight of the animal is obtained and the proper dosage for the animal is calculated.

Claims

1. A method of providing drug treatment to selected individual animals in a livestock feedlot in which groups of animals are normally retained and fed in pens and in which selected individual animals are removed from the pens to a drug treatment location for specific treatments orally or by injection, said method comprising:

identifying an individual animal in need of drug treatment;

moving the identified animal to be treated to the drug treatment location;

entering at the drug treatment location the identity of the animal to be treated;

storing in a computer means in communication with the drug treatment location the sickness and drug treatment history, if any, of the animal to be treated;

in response to entry of the identity of the animal to be treated, providing at the drug treatment location in communication with the computer means, the animal'"'"'s sickness and drug treatment history, if any;

diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated, entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location, and storing the diagnosed sickness in the computer means as an addition to the animal'"'"'s sickness history, if any;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s sickness and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s current sickness, and based on such information, selecting a drug treatment for administration to the animal;

entering the selected drug treatment at the drug treatment location and storing the selected treatment in the computer means as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history, if any;

determining the dosage of each drug to be administered in the selected treatment, and entering the determined dosage at the drug treatment location and storing such dosage in the computer means as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history, if any;

storing in the computer means a drug treatment available for administration and its withdrawal period, if any, and the weight dependency of its dosage, if any;

in response to entry of a selected drug treatment requiring a withdrawal period, calculating in the computer means, for the selected drug treatment, when the animal may be released from the feedlot;

in response to entry of a selected drug treatment the dosage of which is weight-dependent, calculating in the computer means from the entered drug treatment and animal weight, the dosage to be administered, and providing such dosage at the drug treatment location;

and, if desired, obtaining the determined or calculated dosages of the drugs in the selected drug treatment and administering the selected drug treatment to the animal either orally or by injection.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal and capable of transmitting an identifying signal to a remote signal sensing means, the method using the signal sensing means to sense the identifying signal from the vicinity of the drug treatment location, converting, if necessary, the sensed identifying signal into a form recognizable by the computer means, and transmitting the recognizable identifying signal from the drug treatment location to the computer means.

3. The method of claim 1 including diagnosing the severity of the sickness, entering the diagnosed severity at the drug treatment location, and storing the entered severity as an addition to the animal'"'"'s sickness history.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the identity of the animal is entered at the drug treatment location by keying the identity into a data entry terminal.

5. The method of claim 1 including storing in the computer means drug inventory data for drugs maintained in inventory for use in the available drug treatments including the identification and amount of the drugs in inventory, entering the identification and amount of a drug added to inventory in a computer data entry terminal in communication with the computer means, adding in the computer means the amount of the drug entered in the data entry terminal to the existing stored inventory of the drug to determine a new inventory of the drug, and subtracting in the computer means from the existing stored inventory the amount of a drug used in a selected drug treatment when the dosage of the drug in the selected drug treatment is determined or calculated and entered at the drug treatment location.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein containers of drugs entered into stored inventory are identified by a signal generating means affixed to a container and capable of transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container, the method using the signal sensing means to sense a drug and the amount of the drug added to inventory, converting the sensed signal, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer means.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer means.

8. The method of claim 1 including comparing in the computer means an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period with a date the animal is to be shipped from the feedlot.

9. The method of claim 8 including alerting the operator if the release date exceeds the date the animal is to be shipped from the feedlot.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

11. The method of claim 1 including storing in said computer means a series of animal sickness conditions and a corresponding recommended drug treatment for a sickness condition;

and

in response to diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated and entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location, having the computer means select the corresponding recommended drug treatment and transmit the recommended treatment to the drug treatment location.

12. The method of claim 11 including selecting a drug treatment for administration to the animal based on at least the animal'"'"'s current diagnosed sickness condition, the animal'"'"'s sickness history and drug treatment history, and the animal'"'"'s recommended drug treatment;

entering the selected drug treatment at the drug treatment location for storage by the computer means as part of the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history;

obtaining from a drug inventory the drugs in the dosages necessary for the selected drug treatment from an inventory of drugs at the feedlot;

administering the selected drug treatment to the animal orally or by injection at the drug treatment location.

13. The method of claim 12 including storing in the computer means the drug inventory of drugs available at the feedlot for use in available drug treatments, and subtracting in the computer means the dosage of a drug in a selected drug treatment from the stored inventory of the drug after the selected drug treatment is entered at the drug treatment location.

15. A method of providing drug treatment to selected individual animals in a livestock feedlot in which groups of animals are normally retained and fed in pens and in which selected individual animals are removed from the pens to a drug treatment location for specific treatments orally or by injection, said method comprising:

identifying an individual animal in need of drug treatment;

moving the identified individual animal to be treated to the drug treatment location;

entering at the drug treatment location the identity of the animal to be treated;

storing in a computer communicable with the drug treatment location the sickness history and the drug treatment history, if any, of the animal to be treated, the sickness history including the diagnosed sickness and the drug treatment history including drugs administered in a treatment and the dosage of each drug administered in such treatment;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments;

in response to entry of the identity of the animal to be treated, providing at the drug treatment location communicable with the computer means, the animal'"'"'s sickness history and drug treatment history, if any;

diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location;

storing the entered sickness in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s sickness history, if any;

following entry of the diagnosed sickness, providing at the treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s sickness history and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s current sickness, and based on such information and the list of available drug treatments, selecting a drug treatment for administration to the animal;

entering the selected drug treatment at the drug treatment location and storing the selected treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history, if any;

determining the dosage of each drug to be administered in the selected treatment, and entering the determined dosage at the drug treatment location and storing such dosage in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history, if any;

if desired, obtaining the determined dosages of the drugs in the selected drug treatment and administering the selected dosages of the drugs in the selected drug treatment to the animal either orally or by injection at the drug treatment location;

storing in the computer the withdrawal period, if any, for drug treatments available for administration and stored in the computer means;

in response to entry of a selected drug treatment requiring a withdrawal period, calculating in the computer, for the drug treatment, when the animal may be released from the feedlot.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein containers of drugs entered into stored inventory are identified by a signal generating means affixed to a container and capable of transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container, using the signal sensing means to sense drugs and the amount of a drug added to inventory, converting the sensed signal, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.

18. The method of claim 15 including comparing in the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a withdrawal period with a date the animal is to be shipped from the feedlot.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

20. The method of claim 15 including storing in the computer a series of animal sickness conditions and a corresponding recommended drug treatment for a sickness condition;

and

in response to diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated and entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location, having the computer select the corresponding recommended drug treatment and transmit the recommended treatment to the drug treatment location.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

25. A method of providing drug treatment to selected individual animals which are removed from a group of retained animals to a drug treatment location for specific treatments by an operator, the method comprising:

identifying an individual animal in need of drug treatment;

moving the identified animal to be treated to the drug treatment location;

entering the animal'"'"'s identity into a computer system;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, if any, to assist the operator in making a diagnosis;

diagnosing the health condition of the identified animal and entering the diagnosed condition into the computer system as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history, if any;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosed condition, and based on such information and the operator'"'"'s judgment, selecting a drug treatment for the animal;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer system as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history, if any;

determining the dosage of each drug in the selected treatment and entering such dosage into the computer system as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history, if any;

in response to entry of a selected drug treatment requiring a withdrawal period, calculating in the computer system, for the selected drug treatment, when the animal may be released; and

in response to entry of a selected drug treatment whose dosage is weight-dependent, if any, calculating in the computer system, from the animal'"'"'s weight and selected drug treatment, a dosage for the animal.

14. The method of claim 34 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

22. The method of claim 36 including storing in the computer drug inventory data for drugs maintained in inventory for use in the available drug treatments including the identification and amount of drugs in inventory, entering the identification and amount of a drug added to inventory into the computer, adding in the computer the amount of the entered drug to the existing stored inventory of the drug to determine a new inventory of the drug, and subtracting in the computer from the existing stored inventory the amount of a drug used in a selected drug treatment when the dosage of the drug in the selected drug treatment is determined or calculated and entered at the drug treatment location.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the entering steps are performed with a data terminal and the providing and calculating steps are performed with a computer.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer system.

28. The method of claim 25 including diagnosing the severity of the animal'"'"'s condition and entering the diagnosed severity for recording as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history.

29. The method of claim 25 including comparing in the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period with a date the animal is to be shipped.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer system.

31. The method of claim 25 including:

storing in the computer system the identification and amount of drugs in inventory for use in drug treatment;

entering into the computer system the identification and amount of a drug added to inventory;

adding the amount of the identified drug to the existing inventory; and

subtracting the amount of a drug used in a selected drug treatment from the existing inventory.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein a container of a drug entered into inventory includes a signal generator for transmitting to a signal sensor an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

34. The method of claim 25 including:

storing in the computer system a series of animal health conditions and a corresponding recommended drug treatment for at least some of the health conditions; and

in response to diagnosing the condition of the identified animal and the entering of the diagnosed condition, communicating the corresponding recommended drug treatment to the operator at the drug treatment location.

35. The method of claim 34 including:

selecting a drug treatment for the animal based on at least the animal'"'"'s current diagnosed condition, the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, and the animal'"'"'s recommended drug treatment; and

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer system as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history.

36. The method of claim 35 including:

storing in the computer system the inventory of drugs available for use in drug treatments; and

subtracting the dosage of a drug used in the selected drug treatment from the inventory of the drug after the drug treatment is entered.

37. The method of claim 35 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

38. A method of providing drug treatment to selected individual animals which are removed from a group of retained animals to a drug treatment location for specific treatments by an operator, the method comprising:

moving a selected individual animal to be treated to the drug treatment location;

entering into a computer the animal'"'"'s identity;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, if any, to assist the operator in making a diagnosis;

diagnosing the condition of the animal to be treated;

entering into the computer the diagnosed condition as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history, if any;

following entry of the diagnosed condition, providing a list at the drug treatment location of available drug treatments;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosed condition and, based on such information, the operator'"'"'s judgment and the list of available drug treatments, selecting a drug treatment for the animal; and

in response to selection of a drug treatment requiring a withdrawal period, calculating in the computer system, for the selected drug treatment, when the animal may be released.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

40. The method of claim 38 wherein containers of drugs entered into stored inventory are identified by a container a signal generating means capable of transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container, using the signal sensing means to sense drugs and the amount of a drug added to inventory, converting the sensed signal, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.

41. The method of claim 38 including comparing in the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period with a date the animal is to be shipped.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

43. The method of claim 38 including storing in the computer a series of animal sickness conditions and a corresponding recommended drug treatment for a sickness condition;

and

in response to diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated and entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location, having the computer select the corresponding recommended drug treatment and transmit the recommended treatment to the drug treatment location.

44. The method of claim 43 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

45. The method of claim 38 including storing in the computer drug inventory data for drugs maintained in inventory for use in the available drug treatments including the identification and amount of the drugs in inventory, entering the identification and amount of a drug added to inventory into the computer, adding in the computer the amount of the entered drug to the existing stored inventory of the drug to determine a new inventory of the drug, and subtracting in the computer from the existing stored inventory the amount of a drug used in a selected drug treatment when the dosage of the drug in the selected drug treatment is determined or calculated and entered at the drug treatment location.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

47. The method of claim 45 wherein containers of drugs entered into stored inventory are identified by a signal generating means affixed to a container and capable of transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container, the method using the signal sensing means to sense drugs and the amount of a drug added to inventory, and converting the sensed signal, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.

48. A system for providing drug treatment to selected individual animals which are removed from a group of retained animals to a drug treatment location for specific treatment by an operator, comprising:

(a) a computer for;

providing a health and drug treatment history, if any, for an animal to be treated;

providing a record of drug treatments available for administration and their withdrawal periods, and the weight dependency of their dosages, if any;

calculating, from an entered drug treatment requiring a withdrawal period and from treatment data, when an animal may be released; and

calculating, from an entered drug treatment whose dosage is weight-dependent and from an animal'"'"'s weight, a dosage for an animal;

(b) a data terminal at the treatment location and in communication with the computer, the data terminal operable for;

entering the identity of an animal to be treated;

providing the identified animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history from the computer to the operator to assist in making a diagnosis, if any;

permitting entry by the operator of a diagnosis of the identified animal, the diagnosis added to the animal'"'"'s health history; and

permitting entry by the operator of a drug treatment for the identified animal, the drug treatment added to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history.

49. The system of claim 48 including:

a signal generating means affixed to an animal for transmitting an animal identifying signal; and

a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

50. The system of claim 48 wherein the drugs are stored in containers and the system further includes:

a signal generating means affixed to a container for transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container; and

signal sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and converting it, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.

51. The system of claim 48 including comparing in the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period with a date the animal is to be shipped.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

53. The system of claim 48 including storing in the computer a series of animal sickness conditions and a corresponding recommended drug treatment for a sickness condition;

and

in response to diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated and entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location, having the computer select the corresponding recommended drug treatment and transmit the recommended treatment to the drug treatment location.

54. The method of claim 53 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

55. The system of claim 48 including a data entry terminal for entering the identification and amount of drugs added to a drug inventory, the computer further adapted for:

storing data in the drug inventory data for use in the available drug treatments, the data including the identification and amount of the drugs in inventory;

adding the amount of the drugs entered to the existing stored inventory of the drug to determine a new inventory of the drug; and

subtracting from the existing stored inventory the amount of a drug used in a selected drug treatment when the dosage of the drug in the selected drug treatment is determined or calculated and entered at the drug treatment location.

56. The system of claim 55 including:

a signal generating means affixed to an animal for transmitting an animal identifying signal; and

a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

57. The system of claim 55 wherein the drugs are stored in containers and the system further includes:

a signal generating means affixed to a container for transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container; and

signal sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and converting it, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.

58. An animal treatment system located at a treatment location for providing and updating drug treatment and health histories of animals to an operator, comprising:

a computer programmed for receiving and storing information regarding drug treatment and health histories of animals and, for selected drug treatment requiring a withdrawal period, calculating, for the selected drug treatment, when an animal may be released;

data entry means at the treatment location for entering into the computer animal identification, drug treatment administered by the operator and health conditions of an animal observed by the operator; and

data output means at the treatment location and coupled to the computer for providing to the operator, in response to entry of the identity of the animal, the animal'"'"'s drug treatment and health histories, if any,

an operator thereby being able to obtain at the treatment location an animal'"'"'s drug treatment and health histories before administering further drug treatment and to update instantly the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history based on the treatment administered to the animal and the animal'"'"'s health history based on the animal'"'"'s observed physical condition.

23. The method of claim 61 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

24. The method of claim 61 wherein containers of drugs entered into stored inventory are identified by a signal generating means affixed to a container and capable of transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container, the method using the signal sensing means to sense a drug and the amount of the drug added to inventory and converting the sensed signal, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.

59. The animal treatment system of claim 58 wherein the computer is located at the treatment location.

60. The animal treatment system of claim 58 wherein the data entry means comprises a bar code scanner.

61. The animal treatment system of claim 58 wherein the data entry means comprises a keyboard.

62. The animal treatment system of claim 58 wherein the data entry means comprises an antenna and transponder attached to the animal for identifying the animal.

63. The system of claim 58 including:

a signal generating means affixed to an animal for transmitting an animal identifying signal; and

a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

64. The system of claim 58 including comparing in the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period with a date the animal is to be shipped.

65. The method of claim 64 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

66. The system of claim 58 including storing in the computer a series of animal sickness conditions and a corresponding recommended drug treatment for a sickness condition;

and

in response to diagnosing the sickness of the animal to be treated and entering the diagnosed sickness at the drug treatment location, having the computer select the corresponding recommended drug treatment and transmit the recommended treatment to the drug treatment location.

67. The method of claim 66 wherein the animal to be treated is identified and its identity entered at the drug treatment location by a signal generating means affixed to the animal for transmitting an identifying signal to a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location, the sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

68. The system of claim 58 including a data entry terminal for entering the identification and amount of drugs added to a drug inventory, the computer further adapted for:

storing data in the drug inventory data for use in the available drug treatments, the data including the identification and amount of the drugs in inventory;

adding the amount of the drugs entered to the existing stored inventory of the drug to determine a new inventory of the drug; and

subtracting from the existing stored inventory the amount of a drug used in a selected drug treatment when the dosage of the drug in the selected drug treatment is determined or calculated and entered at the drug treatment location.

69. The system of claim 68 including:

a signal generating means affixed to an animal for transmitting an animal identifying signal; and

a remote sensing means near the drug treatment location for sensing the identifying signal and communicating the identifying signal to the computer.

70. The system of claim 68 wherein the drugs are stored in containers and the system further includes:

a signal generating means affixed to a container for transmitting to a remote signal sensing means an identifying signal indicative of the drug and the amount of the drug in the container; and

signal sensing means for sensing the identifying signal and converting it, if necessary, to a form recognizable by the computer.