New in ZIMS for Medical: Upload test lab results directly to the animal’s record, saving manual data entry

January 4, 2021
Rachel Thompson
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Veterinarian collects blood sample from ear vein vessel of Asian elephant. ZIMS Test Result Upload allows veterinary teams to directly import results to the animal record, reducing manual data entry and making data more reliable.

Updated 01.25.21: This post has been updated to reflect that ZIMS for Medical Test Result Upload is now available for Gribbles Australia and Gribbles New Zealand.

Thanks to support from ZAA-Australasia, WAZA, AZA, IDEXX, and others, Species360 has introduced ZIMS for Medical Test Result Upload – allowing veterinary teams to upload hematology and chemistry diagnostic results from IDEXX, Gribbles Australia, and Gribbles New Zealand to an animal record.

By integrating IDEXX VetConnect PLUS® and Gribbles test lab results, ZIMS reduces manual data entry and improves the consistency and quality of information available for individual animals.

Learn How: Go to Species360 Training “Test Result Upload” help document (PDF) for more information on using this new feature in ZIMS.

Species360 thanks IDEXX for its financial and in-kind contributions supporting the development of Test Result Upload in ZIMS for Medical.

We have been using the new (ZIMS for Medical) Clinical Pathology upload function for over a month now. The previous requirement to manually enter individual parameters was onerous and difficult for veterinary personnel to fit into a day of busy clinical work. In contrast, the new functionality has proven to be user-friendly and has improved our data entry efficiency and accuracy for samples submitted to this laboratory.
Dr Michelle Campbell, BSc BVSc (Hons I) PGCertIAWEL DZooMed (Mammalian) MANZCVS (Zoo Medicine) MRCVS Veterinarian
Taronga Western Plains Wildlife Hospital

We love the new (ZIMS Test Result Upload) module. It normally takes 4-5 minutes to manually enter lab results, whereas now it takes about 20 seconds — 1,200 % efficiency increase is pretty good!
Dr. Dan Cutler, Associate Veterinarian
Audubon Nature Institute (Louisiana, United States) and
Adjunct Assistant Professor at Louisiana State University

Test Result Upload really is a fantastic feature in ZIMS, and is so utterly worthwhile…. future zoo veterinarians will not know how lucky they have it when we talk about the ‘olden days’ of manual data input.
Uploading test results is unbelievably time-saving, regardless of whether you are working at a large institution with many samples or a small institution with minimal staff and fewer samples.
Retaining the review function ensures that values can be double-checked and the interpretation of the results does not get missed. Having all the information uploaded into dedicated tabs creates consistency that was not always present when vets manually uploaded the results (i.e. haemolysis indexes were often placed into different areas or sometimes not uploaded at all).
Dr. Adrienne Lavinia, Veterinarian
Ballarat Wildlife Park, Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia

I can personally say the uploading function for IDEXX Australia for mammalian bloodwork is amazing! It used to be so arduous I just entered everything in clinical notes and didn’t bother using the sample/results as I didn’t have time to create a template. Now with a few steps all my results are entered- voila!
Dr Stephanie Shaw, D.V.M., MANZCVS, PhD
David Fleay Wildlife Park (Queensland)

The test results feature is currently available for Species360 members in Australia, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United States. The feature is setup to support institutions in Nordic and United Kingdom countries, and we ask members to reach out to us at support@species360.org to help us move forward in additional regions. As IDEXX expands to support more regions with VetConnect Plus, Species360 will support that integration as well.

Test results recorded in ZIMS are used to calculate the global Expected Test Results used to inform the care and treatment of wildlife around the world. Aggregated across more than 1,200 institutions using ZIMS worldwide, expected results shed light on medical decisions for over 1100 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Learn How: For more information on ZIMS Test Result Upload, access the Species360 Member Support and Training help document here.

Update: ZIMS Test Result Upload will be available for Antech Diagnostics in 2021. Watch here for updates regarding these and other ZIMS for Medical developments.

Species360 and IDEXX

Species360 is an approved, integrated partner with VetConnect® PLUS, giving Species360 members access to IDEXX diagnostic results directly from the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS). VetConnect PLUS enables fast, effective clinical decision-making through exciting features and benefits.

Thanks for your support! ZIMS Test Result Upload was developed through the contributions – in both funding and expertise – of members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), Zoo and Aquarium Association – Australasia (ZAA), and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), as well as IDEXX.