Data Management for the Nonhuman Primate Nursery

Abstract

In any facility that manages the health and welfare of nonhuman primates, it quickly becomes obvious that record keeping, and therefore data management, is required. In fact, increasing levels of record keeping and data management are now required by various facility-monitoring organizations. Much less concern has been placed on the uses for such data beyond the legal and immediate, day-to-day needs. Furthermore, many data-management systems have been built gradually, and no standards currently exist for what information such systems should contain. Our goal in this chapter is to describe the dimensions of data-management systems for nonhuman primate colonies, to provide a brief history of previous efforts to develop some structure and standards for these systems, and then to bring these efforts up to date with suggestions that have worked to satisfy the more modern, multiple needs of clinicians, researchers, and administrators.