Cattle Treatment Manager - Pen Rider

The Pen Rider is a companion app to the Cattle Treatment Manager website. Along with the Hospital Manager iPad app and the resources at the Cattle Treatment Manager website, this complete treatment program is a tool for large animal veterinarians provided by Merck Animal Health. It is designed to help veterinarians increase their supervision and influence over the use of antibiotics and other therapeutic products for their beef producing clients. Veterinarians are mandated to use antibiotics in a judicious manner to maintain the trust of the consuming public and to maintain the high standards of food quality for human consumption. The Pen Rider provides a mobile, easy to use platform to facilitate the identification of cattle that may need therapeutic intervention. In addition, the Pen Rider alerts cattle employees to may not be eligible for treatment thereby decreasing the opportunity for any unintended overuse of antibiotics or other pharmaceuticals. Merck Animal Health will reserve the right to provide the app exclusively to beef producers using the Cattle Treatment Manager system who are directly supervised by a licensed veterinarian, in order to insure that proper professional oversight is utilized in the planning and execution of cattle treatment plans.

The Pen Rider app facilitates the accurate identification and processing of cattle requiring medical intervention. The app provides a mobile alternative for recording cattle selected for treatment in real time, on site, to improve the accuracy of both the treatment and the record. As the veterinarian and client discuss herd disease challenges and prevention needs, good observers within the production unit are needed to locate challenged animals. Many employees on a given operation can be equipped with the Pen Rider app and with many observers will follow increased opportunities to find sick animals in a timely manner. Once an animal is identified for treatment, the Pen Rider app initiates the process of identification, diagnosis, and eventual treatment. Information including, animal ID, location, lot, and tentative diagnosis are recorded. Animals entered into the Pen Rider for treatment are simultaneously uploaded to the companion Hospital Manager pull list for subsequent treatment. These records are maintained for future reference as required by law.

In addition to the identification of sick animals, the Pen Rider app makes important information available to the animal care team that will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the treatment plans. When an animal is identified that may need treatment, the Pen Rider app can provide historical information regarding prior treatments that can influence the next treatment decisions. Available reports with health performance results will also help keep the treatment crew aware of groups of animals that may have special needs or challenges.

All of these steps can be accomplished in a matter of seconds using the Pen Rider app. With this improved mobile communication and documentation tool, every herd employee can have be an important part of the health observation team. As a part of the complete Cattle Treatment Manager platform, the Pen Rider app will be an important tool in recording and documenting the judicious use of antibiotics in the cattle treatment sector. Overall, the Pen Rider can improve the health and productivity of beef herds by strengthening the relationship and communication between the herd owner and their veterinarian.