Information systems for animal health: objectives and components.

As in most other technical and management fields, information management is fast becoming the key to effective action in animal health. A modern veterinary service requires effective systems for gathering relevant information from the field, processing it in ways which provide maximum value, and presenting it in a form which is easy for national policy-makers and field staff to use in implementing appropriate actions to achieve effective disease control. This paper describes seven objectives which should form the basis for developing an integrated national animal health information system. It also specifies six criteria which any information-gathering activity should be required to meet before it is allowed to commence. For each of the seven objectives, a description is given of how the particular component of the system can be used, with examples of how such information management procedures have been implemented in practice. Attention is drawn to other papers in this issue which describe various innovative techniques currently used to meet some of the objectives of a modern animal health information system.