Method and system for providing animal health histories and tracking inventory of related drug usage

• US 6,592,517 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2002
• Issued: 07/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micro Beef Technologies Ltd (MWI Veterinary Supply Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Micro Beef Technologies Ltd (MWI Veterinary Supply Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pratt, William C., McKillip, William D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gilbert, Samuel G.
• Application Number:
  US10/081,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20020115915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 600/300, 128/903, 128/904, 128/898, 119/108
• 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: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry

Abstract

A computer-based system for providing up-to-date health histories of animals, for example, in a feedlot. The system includes indicia means associated with each animal for identifying the animal and data entry means coupled to a computer for reading the indicia means to identify the animal to the computer. The data entry means also communicates to the computer treatment data comprising the animal'"'"'s physical condition and any treatment administered to the animal. The computer is programmed to record the identity and associated treatment data and collect the data with previous data to provide the animal'"'"'s health history. The system also displays the identified animal'"'"'s prior health history at the animal'"'"'s location for the operator'"'"'s benefit, which location is typically an animal hospital remote from the computer'"'"'s location. The system may include a second data entry means for determining the net amount of drugs taken for animal treatment from an inventory. The computer is programmed to compare the net amount taken against the amount administered in treatment as communicated by the first data entry means to determine a difference in the amounts.

Claims

1. A method of assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a selected drug treatment to animals which are selected from a group of retained animals for treatment at a drug treatment location, the method comprising:

storing in a computer health and drug treatment histories of animals to be treated;

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

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period;

determining from the drug withdrawal information whether to administer the drug treatment;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal; and

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the withdrawal information is a drug withdrawal period.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the withdrawal information includes an animal shipping date and animal treatment date.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the withdrawal information includes the number of days the animal will be late for shipping if the drug is administered.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the withdrawal information includes a calculated earliest release date for the animal.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the drug treatment history provided by the computer at the drug treatment location includes treatment cost.

7. The method of claim 6 including comparing through the computer an amount of drugs used in administering selected drug treatments against an amount of drugs taken from inventory for use in such treatments.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein entering into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated at the drug treatment location includes electronically identifying the animal to the computer.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes displaying the number of days the animal will be late for shipping if the drug is administered and prompting an operator to determine if the operator wants to give the drug treatment.

10. The method of claim 1 including providing through the computer a list of animals and associated shipping status based on drug withdrawal information.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes calculating in the computer when the animal may be released.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes calculating in the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period and comparing that date with a date the animal is scheduled to be shipped.

13. The method of claim 12 including alerting the operator if the release date is later than the shipping date.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein said providing through the computer at the drug treatment location, the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history includes providing prior drug treatments administered between two given dates.

15. The method of claim 1 including, in response to entry of an estimated shipping date for a group of animals, indicating whether the group is safe to ship based on the drug withdrawal information for animals within the group.

16. The method of claim 1 including, in response to entry of a lot number for a group of animals, indicating whether the group is safe to ship based on the drug withdrawal information for animals within the group.

17. The method of claim 1 including, in response to entry of pen number for a group of animals, indicating whether the group is safe to ship based on the drug withdrawal information for animals within the group.

18. The method of claim 1 including entering an animal weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location a weight-dependent dosage.

19. The method of claim 18 including alerting the operator if the entered animal weight is outside an allowable range.

20. The method of claim 1 including, in response to entry of the selected drug treatment:

providing through the computer a prompt to an operator to enter into the computer a dosage of drugs to be administered; and

alerting the operator through the computer if the entered dosage is outside an allowable range.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein entering the diagnosis into the computer includes electronically entering sickness codes.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein entering the diagnosis into the computer includes electronically entering a temperature for the animal.

23. The method of claim 1 including entering into the computer a destination for the animal after its treatment.

24. The method of claim 1 including alerting an operator, after the entering of the selected drug treatment into the computer, whether the selected drug treatment is invalid.

25. The method of claim 1 including alerting the operator if the drug treatment being administered will affect the release date of the animal.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes displaying the drug withdrawal period.

27. A method of assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a selected drug treatment to animals which are selected from a group of retained animals for treatment at a drug treatment location, the method comprising:

storing in a computer health and drug treatment histories of animals to be treated;

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

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

following entry of the selected drug treatment, alerting an operator with drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal; and

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the operator is alerted at the drug treatment location.

29. The method of claim 27 including entering an animal weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location a weight-dependent dosage.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein the withdrawal information is a drug withdrawal period.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein the withdrawal includes an animal shipping date and animal treatment date.

32. The method of claim 27 wherein the withdrawal includes the number of days the animal will be late for shipping if the drug is administered.

33. The method of claim 27 wherein the withdrawal includes a calculated earliest release date for the animal.

34. The method of claim 27 including alerting an operator if the animal weight is outside an allowable range.

35. The method of claim 27 including alerting an operator if the dosage of drugs to be administered is outside an allowable range.

36. The method of claim 27 including alerting the operator if the drug treatment being administered will affect the release date of the animal.

37. The method of claim 27 wherein alerting an operator with drug withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes displaying the drug withdrawal period.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein entering into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated includes electronically identifying the animal to the computer.

39. The method of claim 27 wherein entering into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated includes electronically identifying the animal to the computer.

40. A method of assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a selected drug treatment to animals which are selected from a group of retained animals for treatment at a drug treatment location, the method comprising:

storing in a computer health and drug treatment histories of animals to be treated;

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

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal;

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history; and

prior to shipping the animal, providing through the computer to an operator at the animal'"'"'s location drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period.

41. The method of claim 40 including the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information whether sufficient time has passed since administering the drug treatment to ship the animal.

42. The method of claim 41 wherein the withdrawal information is a drug withdrawal period.

43. The method of claim 41 wherein the withdrawal information includes an animal shipping date and animal treatment date.

44. The method of claim 41 wherein the withdrawal information includes the number of days the animal will be late for shipping if the drug is administered.

45. The method of claim 41 wherein the withdrawal information includes a calculated earliest release date for the animal.

46. The method of claim 40 including alerting the operator if the drug treatment being administered will affect the release date of the animal.

47. The method of claim 40 wherein providing through the computer to an operator at the animal'"'"'s location drug withdrawal information includes displaying the drug withdrawal period.

48. The method of claim 40 including entering an animal weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location a weight-dependent dosage.

49. The method of claim 48 wherein entering into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated includes electronically identifying the animal to the computer.

50. A method of providing drug treatment to a group of animals at a drug treatment location, the method comprising:

entering into a computer the identity of animals in the group to be treated;

storing in the computer a list of available drug processing orders and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator a list of available processing orders;

selecting a drug processing order for the animals from the list of processing orders;

administering the selected processing order to the animals;

storing the administered processing order in the computer as an addition to each animal'"'"'s drug treatment history;

following administration of the selected processing order and prior to shipment, providing to an operator through the computer withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period; and

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of drugs used in administering the processing order.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein the withdrawal information is a drug withdrawal period.

52. The method of claim 50 wherein the withdrawal information includes an animal shipping date and animal treatment date.

53. The method of claim 50 wherein the withdrawal information includes a calculated earliest release date for the animal.

54. The method of claim 50 including:

entering a weight for an animal; and

alerting the operator if the weight is outside an allowable range.

55. The method of claim 50 wherein entering into a computer the identity of animals in the group to be treated includes entering into the computer a group identification number.

56. The method of claim 50 wherein entering into a computer the identity of animals in the group to be treated includes entering into the computer an individual animal identification number.

57. The method of claim 56 including entering an animal weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator a weight-dependent dosage.

58. The method of claim 57 including entering into a computer the identity of animals in the group to be treated includes electronically identifying the animal to the computer.

59. The method of claim 50 including providing through the computer a list of animals and associated shipping status based on the drug withdrawal information.

60. The method of claim 50 including also assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a selected drug treatment to an individual animal in the group by:

storing in a computer health and drug treatment histories of animals to be treated;

removing each animal to be individually treated from the group of animals;

entering into the computer at a drug treatment location the identity of each animal to be individually treated;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal;

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history;

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of drugs used, if any, in administering the drug treatment; and

entering the animal'"'"'s weight and, following entry of any selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator a weight-dependent dosage.

61. The method of claim 60 including:

storing in the computer drug withdrawal periods for the list of available drug treatments;

following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period; and

the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information whether to administer the drug treatment.

62. The method of claim 61 including alerting the operator if the drug treatment being administered will affect the release date of the animal.

63. The method of claim 62 wherein alerting an operator with withdrawal information includes displaying the drug withdrawal period.

64. The method of claim 61 wherein the withdrawal information in the computer includes the number of days the animal will be late for shipping if the drug is administered.

65. The method of claim 61 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes displaying number of days the animal will be late for shipping if the drug is administered and prompting an operator to determine if the operator wants to give the drug treatment.

66. The method of claim 61 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes calculating in the computer when the animal may be released.

67. The method of claim 61 wherein providing through the computer at the drug treatment location withdrawal information for the selected drug treatment includes calculating the computer an earliest permitted release date related to a drug withdrawal period and comparing that date with a date the animal is scheduled to be shipped.

68. The method of claim 61 including alerting the operator if the release date is later than the shipping date.

69. The method of claim 61 wherein said providing through the computer at the drug treatment location, the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history includes providing prior drug treatments administered between two given dates.

70. The method of claim 61 including indicating whether a group of animals is safe to ship based on drug withdrawal information for animals within the group.

71. The method of claim 61 including, in response to entry of the selected drug treatment, alerting the operator through the computer if an entered dosage is outside an allowable range.

72. The method of claim 61 including entering into the computer a destination for the animal after its treatment.

73. The method of claim 61 including alerting an operator, after the entering of the selected drug treatment into the computer, whether the selected drug treatment is invalid.

74. The method of claim 61 wherein entering into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated at the drug treatment location includes electronically identifying the animal to the computer.

75. The method of claim 50 wherein the list of available processing orders is provided to the operator at the drug treatment location.

76. The method of claim 50 wherein the method includes assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a particular drug treatment to an individual animal from the group of animals, and the method further comprises:

storing in the computer health and drug treatment histories of individual animals to be treated;

entering into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated individually at the drug treatment location;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

entering the animal'"'"'s weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location a weight-dependent dosage;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal;

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history; and

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of any administered drug treatment.

77. The method of claim 76 wherein any selected drug treatment administered to the individual animal is administered at the drug treatment location.

78. The method of claim 76 wherein any individual animal drug treatment is administered to the animal at the drug treatment location while the group of animals is at the drug treatment location for administration of the processing order.

79. The method of claim 76 wherein the identity of an animal to be treated individually at the drug treatment location is entered electronically into the computer.

80. The method of claim 79 wherein prior to shipment of an individually treated animal, providing to an operator through the computer drug withdrawal information for the drug treatment administered to the individual animal;

and

the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information for the administered drug treatment, whether the animal is safe to ship.

81. The method of claim 76 wherein prior to shipment of an individually treated animal, providing to an operator through the computer drug withdrawal information for the drug treatment administered to the individual animal;

and

the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information for the administered drug treatment, whether the animal is safe to ship.

82. The method of claim 81 wherein any selected drug treatment administered to the individual animal is administered at the drug treatment location.

83. The method of claim 50 wherein the list of available processing orders is provided through the computer to an operator at the treatment location.

84. The method of claim 50 wherein the processing order is administered to the animals at the treatment location by the operator upon selection of the processing order.

85. The method of claim 50 wherein, prior to shipment, the operator determines from the drug withdrawal information whether the group of animals is safe to ship.

86. The method of claim 50 wherein the method includes assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a particular drug treatment to an individual animal from the group of animals at the treatment location, and the method further comprises:

storing in the computer health and drug treatment histories of individual animals in the group of animals;

entering into the computer the identity of an animal from the group to be treated individually;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period;

the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information whether to administer the drug treatment;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal;

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history; and

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of any administered drug treatment.

87. The method of claim 86 including:

entering the animal'"'"'s weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment for the individual animal, providing through the computer to the operator a weight-dependent dosage; and

in response to entry of a lot number, pin number, or an estimated shipping date for the animal, indicating whether the animal is safe to ship based on the drug withdrawal information for animals within the group.

88. The method of claim 86 wherein the list of available drug treatments is provided through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location.

89. The method of claim 86 wherein the drug withdrawal information provided through the computer to the operator is provided to the operator at the drug treatment location.

90. The method of claim 86 wherein the list of available drug treatments and the drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period are provided to an operator at the drug treatment location.

91. The method of claim 86 wherein any selected drug treatment administered to the animal is administered at the drug treatment location.

92. The method of claim 86 wherein the list of available drug treatments, the drug withdrawal information, and any drug treatment administered to the animal are provided at the drug treatment location.

93. The method of claim 92 wherein any drug treatment administered to the animal is administered while the group of animals is at the drug treatment location.

94. The method of claim 86 wherein the identity of an animal to be treated is entered electronically into the computer.

95. The method of claim 50 wherein the drug withdrawal information provided to the operator through the computer prior to shipment of the animal is provided to the operator at the drug treatment location.

96. A method of assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a selected drug treatment to animals which are selected from a group of retained animals for treatment at a drug treatment location, the method comprising:

storing in a computer health and drug treatment histories of animals to be treated;

entering electronically into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated at the drug treatment location;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location drug withdrawal information that includes or is derived from a drug withdrawal period;

the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information whether to administer the drug treatment;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal;

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history; and

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of any administered drug treatment.

97. The method of claim 96 including:

entering an animal weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location a weight-dependent dosage; and

in response to entry of a lot number, pen number, or an estimated shipping date for the animal, indicating whether the animal is safe to ship based on the drug withdrawal information for animals within the group.

98. A method of providing drug treatment to a group of animals at a drug treatment location and in assisting an operator in selecting and deciding whether to administer a particular drug treatment to an individual animal at the location, the method comprising:

entering electronically into a computer the identity of animals in the group to be treated;

storing in the computer a list of available processing orders and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator a list of available processing orders;

selecting a drug treatment for the animals from the list of processing orders;

entering the selected processing order into the computer;

administering the processing order to the animals;

storing the administered processing order in the computer as an addition to each animal'"'"'s drug treatment history;

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of the administered processing order;

storing in the computer health and drug treatment histories of animals to be treated;

entering electronically into the computer the identity of an animal to be treated individually at the drug treatment location;

in response to entry of the animal'"'"'s identity, providing through the computer at the drug treatment location the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history, the history including prior diagnoses and drug treatments;

diagnosing the animal to be treated;

entering the diagnosis into the computer;

storing the diagnosis in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s health history;

evaluating the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis;

storing in the computer a list of available drug treatments and their drug withdrawal periods;

providing through the computer to an operator at the drug treatment location a list of available drug treatments;

based at least in part on the evaluation of the animal'"'"'s health and drug treatment history and the animal'"'"'s diagnosis, the operator selecting a drug treatment for the animal from the list of drug treatments;

entering the selected drug treatment into the computer;

entering the animal'"'"'s weight and, following entry of the selected drug treatment, providing through the computer to the operator at the drug treatment location a weight-dependent dosage;

if desired, administering the selected drug treatment to the animal;

storing any administered drug treatment in the computer as an addition to the animal'"'"'s drug treatment history;

decreasing inventory in the computer by the quantity of any administered drug treatment;

prior to shipment of the animal, providing to an operator through the computer drug withdrawal information; and

the operator determining from the drug withdrawal information whether the animal is safe to ship.

99. The method of claim 98 wherein the list of available processing orders is provided to the operator at the drug treatment location.

100. The method of claim 98 wherein the processing order is administered to the animals at the treatment location by the operator upon selection of the processing order.

101. The method of claim 98 wherein the list of available processing orders is provided to an operator at the drug treatment location.

102. The method of claim 101 wherein the processing order is administered to the group of animals at the drug treatment location.

103. The method of claim 98 wherein an individual animal to be treated is diagnosed at the drug treatment location while the group of animals is at the drug treatment location.

104. The method of claim 98 wherein the selected drug treatment to be administered to an individual animal, if administered, is administered at the drug treatment location.

105. The method of claim 98 wherein the drug withdrawal information provided to the operator prior to shipment of the animal is provided to the operator at the treatment location.