Practicing veterinary medicine at a zoo or aquarium can be a challenging balance of art and science. The diversity of species and numbers of animals under our care can be overwhelming. Much of our current therapy is based on recent experience, data from in­house "baseline" normals, and consultation with colleagues. Effectively managing the volumes of medical data which are generated is as important to the medical management of an individual case as it is to the development of the fields of aquatic and exotic animal medicine. In 1994, we developed a novel computerized medical records system which allows the integration of video, audio, and text data for rapid and easy utilization, safe storage, and facilitation of information sharing between practitioners.

Using an A/V (Audio/Visual) equipped Apple computer, our Data Aquasition®^TM software and some low-cost input peripherals you will be able to combine video data (histology, cytology, ultrasound, radiographs, endoscopy, necropsies, fecals, etc.), audio data, and traditional text data (progress notes, differential diagnoses, pathology reports, blood chemistries, cell counts, etc.) into an animal's medical husbandry record. All numerical data are available for graphing. Searching this rather large database is accomplished through numerous parameters such as species, animal identification number, disease, treatment, parasite, blood chemistry parameter, etc.

The latest version of our Data Aquasition ^TM software features an improved user interface, enhanced capabilities in handling necropsy, water quality, and medical treatment tracking and feed record data. Options now exist for inventorying banked tissue samples, accession/deaccession of animals, recording mortalities, and recording standard operating protocols for laboratory techniques, diet formulations, etc. We are currently in the process of networking this system within our institution, thus improving communication regarding current animal health status, water quality status, and medical treatment protocols. We feel that this system will be a valuable diagnostic, medical management and teaching tool in the rapidly expanding field of aquatic and exotic animal care.