Animal Care and Use Programs are typically an expensive but necessary part of any organization’s research program. Between animals, personnel, infrastructure and equipment, organizations have a great deal already invested. That is why it is critical that Programs run smoothly and remediation costs are avoided as much as possible.
What are Remediation Costs?
Remediation costs can be incurred when it is determined that an organization is not following guidelines regarding the treatment or handling of laboratory animals, which can result in hefty penalties known as Remediation Costs.
Some organizations may face higher risk for remediation costs due to the nature of the research. Costs can include increases in resources such as additional personnel time and/or money. Other potential problems include increased administrative burden or noncompliance situations that need to be reported to OLAW, APHIS, and/or AAALAC which leaves the organization vulnerable to public scrutiny.
The intent is to ensure the humane treatment of the laboratory animals, but occasionally institutions can get tripped up. Remediation costs can even be incurred for something as small as a sick or injured research animal needing to be replaced. With simple issues causing expensive fallout, remediation costs should be avoided as much as possible.
How Do I Avoid Remediation Costs?
The best way to avoid or minimize remediation costs is to maintain a high-quality Animal Care and Use Program. A common trait shared by organizations hit with remediation costs is that their programs are not efficiently run. TOPAZ Elements can aid in just that: helping to improve the efficiency of your Program by improving organization, reducing administrative burden, and decreasing the risk of noncompliance situations.
How Does TOPAZ Elements Help?
TOPAZ offers a full suite of Laboratory Animal Management Software that addresses all facets of operation and compliance. Used together or individually, these tools help to improve your organization’s tracking, communications, and reporting capabilities allowing you to mitigate compliance risk.
Animal Protocols
Using the Elements Animal Protocols module, the submission and review processes are conveniently made available to all users, easily managed by administrators, and appropriately flexible in terms of workflow.
Animal Census
The Animal Census module is crucial in maintaining a proper animal facility. It integrates with the Mobile Census module allowing for quick and easy scanning of cage cards to ensure that all animals are accounted for.
Animal Orders
When placing an order through Elements Animal Orders, all of the information a user may need is readily available. No longer does the Procurement Manager have to contact the Principal Investigator (PI) to modify an order. With Animal Orders, prevent delays or incorrect ordering due to untimely communication or lack of accessible records.
Animal Breeding
Another useful tool is the latest addition to TOPAZ Elements, Animal Breeding. The Animal Breeding module makes a complex, high-cost operation simpler by tracking breeding from set-up to weaning, including genotyping. Learn more by reading our recent announcement here.
Veterinary Management
The Veterinary Management module allows for animal care staff to be coordinated and deliberate, allowing for the assignment, execution, and documentation of tasks related to the animals.
Learn More
TOPAZ has been in the laboratory research software industry for over forty years and is dedicated to the success of our clients’ Animal Care and Use Programs. Elements provides Programs an opportunity to improve overall quality and avoid remediation costs. It’s impressively configurable, easy to implement and maintain, and has an extremely high return on investment.
Contact us at sales@topazti.com or 800-250-9090 to see if TOPAZ Elements is right for you.