IIAD mobile Certificate of Veterinary Inspection app now available for multiple devices
Today, the Institute for Infectious Animal Diseases (IIAD), a Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence, along with the Texas Center for Applied Technology (TCAT), a part of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, announced the expansion of their mobile Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) application to multiple platforms to allow compatibility with both iOS and Android devices. With the platform expansion also comes a new name, mCVI, and look.
In June 2014, IIAD and TCAT created the pilot application, iCVI, to bring everyday utility to veterinarians who also use their mobile devices for IIAD's Enhanced Passive Surveillance (EPS) program. Veterinarians and State Animal Health Officials (SAHOs) across the country started utilizing the application almost immediately, as they saw utility in the ability to supporting animal health certificates from the field. Within the first year, 16 states had launched pilot programs, 500 verified accounts had been created and more than 7,000 CVIs had been submitted through the app, demonstrating a reach far beyond the initial EPS pilot veterinarians. Today, those numbers have risen to 500 verified accounts and 14,000 CVIs submitted through the app.
"The original iCVI app was only available for iPads," said Keith Biggers, Ph.D., TCAT director for computing and information technology and IIAD information analysis systems theme leader. "However, from the beginning, we had inquiries from potential users about the possibility of expanding the app to other devices and operating platforms. Throughout the entire process, we've worked closely with SAHOs and veterinarians in participating states to continue refining and optimizing the app to fit stakeholders needs. We found that expanding to multiple platforms was a major priority."
In July 2015, IIAD and TCAT announced that further development funding to adapt the iPad application to multiple platforms had been secured and work began on the new app.
"With the expansion, we wanted to convey the operability across multiple mobile platforms - not just iOS," said Matt Cochran, DVM, AgConnect®
program director.
"In addition to a new name, the mCVI application and AgConnect®
also have a new, updated logo to better reflect the nature of these forward-thinking technologies and how they are of benefit to veterinarians and SAHOs in the field."
With an easy-to-use, touch screen interface, the mCVI app extends the toolbox of capabilities for veterinary practitioners, allowing them to easily submit electronic animal health certificates, store that information within the application when they are not connected to the internet or print paper-based forms directly from the app. This real-time information sharing is an alternative to email or web-based systems that require full-time Internet connectivity, and helps improve communication between veterinarians and state animal health offices by supporting certificate submission from the field.
"The creation of mCVI aligns with the progressive nature of the AgConnect® suite," said Gerald Parker, DVM, Ph.D., IIAD interim director. "With an expansion of the user base, the people who historically dealt with paper files in the field or in the office now create real-time, geo-referenced movement records with one simple point of data entry on a mobile device. This not only enhances animal disease traceability but it also ultimately safeguards animal and human health."
In addition to automatically and/or manually importing submitted CVIs into state animal health information systems, submitted CVIs can also be made available within IIAD's AgConnect® suite. AgConnect® is a suite of customizable data integration and analysis products designed to enhance real-time animal health situational awareness, enable permissioned data sharing, and support decision-making in the event of emerging, zoonotic and/or high consequence diseases. With permissions, state veterinarians are able to visualize the CVI data along with other data through the AgConnect® suite (e.g., additional animal movements, premises, surveillance, diagnostic test results and other emergency response data), allowing for greater situational awareness. AgConnect® provides everyday utilities that make for a seamless transition to detection and response.
The mCVI app is available for free download on the Apple App Store® and Google Play Store® for tablets and smartphones. Quick start guides for iOS and Android devices can be found here.
