VetCompass Australia: A National Big Data Collection System for Veterinary Science

Paul McGreevy¹, Peter Thomson², Navneet K Dhand³, David Raubenheimer⁴, Sophie Masters⁵, Caroline S Mansfield⁶, Timothy Baldwin⁷, Ricardo J Soares Magalhaes^{8

9}, Jacquie Rand¹⁰, Peter Hill¹¹, Anne Peaston¹², James Gilkerson¹³, Martin Combs¹⁴, Shane Raidal¹⁵, Peter Irwin¹⁶, Peter Irons¹⁷, Richard Squires¹⁸, David Brodbelt¹⁹, Jeremy Hammond²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. paul.mcgreevy@sydney.edu.au.
² School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. peter.thomson@sydney.edu.au.
³ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. navneet.dhand@sydney.edu.au.
⁴ Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. david.raubenheimer@sydney.edu.au.
⁵ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. sophie.masters@sydney.edu.au.
⁶ Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC 3030, Australia. cmans@unimelb.edu.au.
⁷ School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. tb@ldwin.net.
⁸ School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia. r.magalhaes@uq.edu.au.
⁹ Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia. r.magalhaes@uq.edu.au.
¹⁰ School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia. j.rand@uq.edu.au.
¹¹ School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia. p.hill@adelaide.edu.au.
¹² School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia. anne.peaston@adelaide.edu.au.
¹³ Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. jrgilk@unimelb.edu.au.
¹⁴ School of Animal and Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia. macombs@csu.edu.au.
¹⁵ School of Animal and Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia. shraidal@csu.edu.au.
¹⁶ School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. p.irwin@murdoch.edu.au.
¹⁷ School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. P.Irons@murdoch.edu.au.
¹⁸ College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. richard.squires@jcu.edu.au.
¹⁹ Pathobiology and Population Services, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK. dbrodbelt@rvc.ac.uk.
²⁰ Information and Communications Technology, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. jeremy.hammond@sydney.edu.au.

PMID: 28954419
PMCID: PMC5664033
DOI: 10.3390/ani7100074

VetCompass Australia: A National Big Data Collection System for Veterinary Science

Paul McGreevy et al. Animals (Basel). 2017.

. 2017 Sep 26;7(10):74.

doi: 10.3390/ani7100074.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. paul.mcgreevy@sydney.edu.au.
² School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. peter.thomson@sydney.edu.au.
³ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. navneet.dhand@sydney.edu.au.
⁴ Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. david.raubenheimer@sydney.edu.au.
⁵ Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. sophie.masters@sydney.edu.au.
⁶ Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Werribee, VIC 3030, Australia. cmans@unimelb.edu.au.
⁷ School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. tb@ldwin.net.
⁸ School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia. r.magalhaes@uq.edu.au.
⁹ Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, South Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia. r.magalhaes@uq.edu.au.
¹⁰ School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia. j.rand@uq.edu.au.
¹¹ School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia. p.hill@adelaide.edu.au.
¹² School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Roseworthy, SA 5371, Australia. anne.peaston@adelaide.edu.au.
¹³ Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. jrgilk@unimelb.edu.au.
¹⁴ School of Animal and Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia. macombs@csu.edu.au.
¹⁵ School of Animal and Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, Charles Sturt University, Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia. shraidal@csu.edu.au.
¹⁶ School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. p.irwin@murdoch.edu.au.
¹⁷ School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia. P.Irons@murdoch.edu.au.
¹⁸ College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Science, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811, Australia. richard.squires@jcu.edu.au.
¹⁹ Pathobiology and Population Services, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK. dbrodbelt@rvc.ac.uk.
²⁰ Information and Communications Technology, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. jeremy.hammond@sydney.edu.au.

PMID: 28954419
PMCID: PMC5664033
DOI: 10.3390/ani7100074

Abstract

VetCompass Australia is veterinary medical records-based research coordinated with the global VetCompass endeavor to maximize its quality and effectiveness for Australian companion animals (cats, dogs, and horses). Bringing together all seven Australian veterinary schools, it is the first nationwide surveillance system collating clinical records on companion-animal diseases and treatments. VetCompass data service collects and aggregates real-time, clinical records for researchers to interrogate, delivering sustainable and cost-effective access to data from hundreds of veterinary practitioners nationwide. Analysis of these clinical records will reveal geographical and temporal trends in the prevalence of inherited and acquired diseases, identify frequently prescribed treatments, revolutionize clinical auditing, help the veterinary profession to rank research priorities, and assure evidence-based companion-animal curricula in veterinary schools. VetCompass Australia will progress in three phases: (1) roll-out of the VetCompass platform to harvest Australian veterinary clinical record data; (2) development and enrichment of the coding (data-presentation) platform; and (3) creation of a world-first, real-time surveillance interface with natural language processing (NLP) technology. The first of these three phases is described in the current article. Advances in the collection and sharing of records from numerous practices will enable veterinary professionals to deliver a vastly improved level of care for companion animals that will improve their quality of life.

Keywords: big data; canine; companion animals; disease surveillance; electronic patient record; epidemiology; equine; feline; veterinary.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
A diagram to illustrate the organizational framework of VetCompass Australia.

**Figure 2**
An illustration of the flow of data through the VetCompass Australia system.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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VetCompass Australia: A National Big Data Collection System for Veterinary Science

Affiliations

VetCompass Australia: A National Big Data Collection System for Veterinary Science

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

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