Applying health events to animals and handling data conflicts during batch entry
Entering health events using the batch entry functionality can greatly speed up your data entry time and help ensure you have consistently entered, quality records.
Batch entry consists of three steps:
- Creation of health event templates
- Creating a list of animals that received the health activity or activities for applying the templates (optional)
- Applying the health events to animals
Selecting animals for batch event entry
Animals can be selected from the batch entry list on two ways: Checking the "Select all animals" checkbox to load the health event forms for all of the animals in the list, and by selecting each animal individually by checking the box to the left of its name.
Only selected animals will have the events applied when the batch entry is submitted. The event forms for any unchecked animals will be ignored and not saved when the page is submitted.
Using the "Select all animals" function
When using the "Select all animals" function right above the animal list, all animals will be immediately selected and their event forms loaded. Uncheck any animals that did not receive the health activities in the templates to prevent these events from being saved.
This method will speed up data entry time, especially if filters are also used to refine the animal list. However, it doesn't allow for the the few moments of "eyeballs" on each animals' individual forms to catch any one-off edits or event removals like manual selection or per-animal entry does.
When using this method, unless all animals received identical events, we strongly suggest you take just a few moments to scroll through your animals' events to ensure you haven't missed anything.
Selecting animals individually
While it takes a bit more time to select animals manually than it does using the "Select all animals", there is a time when it is the appropriate way to ensure the animals' records are properly entered. This includes:
- When only a subset of the animals in the list actually have the activities
- When fields were left blank on the template (and consequently the form fields are not pre-filled for the individual animal forms) and need to be added on a per-animal basis
- When some animals didn't have all activities completed and those forms need to be removed from the animal prior to saving.
Running total of animals selected
As animals are selected, the system will display a count of the selected animals just above the animal list at the left side of the page. This count will allow for verification that all animals that received the health activities are selected.
Example of using "Select all animals" function then de-selecting five animals to remove them from the batch entry action. The animal count reflects the number of animals currently selected to have the health events added to their record.
Updating health event information on a per-animal basis
Editing, adding or removing data from an individual animal's health event form
Other than the date and health event activity, any information that is pre-filled in an animal's individual event form can be edited or deleted (if not a required field), and any form fields that are left blank in the health event template can filled in for an individual animal.
Being able to edit or remove pre-filled information is especially helpful when most--but not all-- of the information for the animals is the same, as you can create a health event template to apply to the animals receiving the activity, and then just update the information for the outliers.
For example, let's say you just did pregnancy tests for 28 animals. If 25 of those animals were confirmed to be pregnant, and the other three were confirmed to be open, you could set the test Result field in the pregnancy test template to "Positive". Then, on the individual animals' test forms for the three open does, it would be quick work to change their test results to "Negative" before submitting the batch entry action.
Removing a health event from an individual animal
An event form for an activity that was not performed on an individual animal in the batch entry action can easily be removed to avoid accidental recording of the event. To remove an event form from an individual animal, click the red "Remove" icon to the right of the event:
Once the event has been removed from the animal in this manner, it will continue to display the health event activity, but in a gray font to indicate that health event will not be saved when the batch entry is submitted.
A removed event can be restored any time prior to the submission of the batch entry action by clicking the green "Restore" icon that replaced the "Remove" icon. Once the event has been restored, the activity name will become blue to indicate it is an active form, and the form fields will redisplay. Any information that had been added to the form prior to its removal will be retained.
Duplicate event warnings and handling data conflicts
When loading the health event forms for an animal during batch entry, the system performs multiple checks and validations to help ensure the information you are entering is valid and logical based on the animal's existing information. When a potential duplicate or actual conflict with an existing entry for an animal is identified, the system prominently displays a warning message so you can review the information and take the necessary action on the events being added.
Conditions that would cause a potential duplicate entry warning suggestions or data conflict message to display are:
- Presence of an one or more direct matches to existing events that have the same date, event category and health event activity as the event being added.
- Presence of one or more existing events on the same date that may be an indirect match to the activity being recorded, and potentially a duplicate of the event being recorded because they may have the same active ingredient, test type, purpose of vaccine, etc.*
- The animal was not alive on the date of the health event being added
Potential duplicate event warnings
Duplicate event warnings display for direct matches and suggested potential indirect matches* for vaccinations, medications, vitamin & mineral supplements, parasite control, tests, and maintenance activities. These events display a yellow "warning" icon, which indicates that while there may be a conflict, the event can still be added to the animal's health record.
In addition of the yellow warning icon, the message, "A similar event is already recorded for this date." and a "Learn more" link displays. The "Learn more" link will allow you to review the identified potential matches in a pop-up window before you save the batch entry action if you choose to (reviewing the matches is not required to save the event, but highly suggested). From the pop-up window you can choose to remove the event from from the animal and batch entry action, or continue adding the health event (which closes the pop-up window without any further action).
Example of an event warning for a potentially duplicate event that is a direct match to the health event being added.
Data conflict warnings
Data conflict warnings display for direct matches for weight and body condition scores (neither of which support multiple events for the same date), as well as health events with dates either before the animal's date of birth or after its date of death. These events display a red "warning" icon, which indicates that there is a conflict, and the event will not be saved when the batch entry action is submitted.
In addition of the red warning icon, an explanatory message and a "Learn more" link displays, allowing you to review the reason why the event is invalid and will not be saved when the batch entry action is submitted.
Example of a data conflict warning for a weight event being added on the same date as an existing weight event.
Example of a data conflict warning for a weight event being added on the same date as an existing weight event.
Tips for improving the accuracy of potential duplicate event suggestions
Using accurate and consistent references to the health event activities in your events will greatly improve our ability to map the relationships between health activities and present them for your convenience as suggestions of possible duplicate existing events to the health events being entered for an animal in the batch entry action. Here are some tips to help you get the best out of this great feature:
- Use the options available in the health activities dropdown whenever possible; User-added entries will not be mapped immediately, and in some cases not at all.
- Check your spelling before submitting your entry. Preferring to error on the side of caution, if we cannot easily identify what drug/test/activity you had added, it will not be mapped.
- Whenever possible, don't add new entries that are abbreviations unless they are very common to the goat industry, for the same reason as above.
- If you must use abbreviations, also always use that selection when adding health event. Do you prefer CD&T or CD/T? It's best to make a choice and stay with it.
Learn about creating health event templates for batch entry
Learn about deleting, removing and restoring health event templates during batch entry
Learn about refining the list of animals for a batch entry action
Learn about completing health activity reminders during batch entry
*The display of suggested potentially related reminders or potentially similar events is supported by manually-entered health event activity mappings in the EasyKeeper database. This functionality has been added only as a convenience to the user to help identify reminders for events or existing events that may be related, either directly or indirectly, to the Brand/Type, Test Type, Activity or event category of the health event being added to help prevent duplicate event administration and/or not completing a health event reminder that should be completed. The accuracy of the suggestions mapping to the current event being added is in no way guaranteed; Like all "suggestions" included the EasyKeeper service, it is the sole responsibility of the User to verify that the accuracy of the suggestion and act accordingly, and by saving the batch entry action with any suggested scheduled reminder marked or potential duplicate event included assumes full responsibility for the action.