Development of a coding system for recording clinical findings in farm animal practice

Veterinary Hospital, Wickham, Hampshire.

A coding system was developed for recording veterinary information in the University of Liverpool farm animal practice. Existing coding systems were found to be unsuitable for use on a microcomputer in a veterinary practice. A number of new coding formats were developed and tried. The need to record varying detail, to analyse data and to enter data quickly resulted in biaxial hierarchical codes. These are used in an automated coding system to record all veterinary and reproduction information in the practice.