The Sightline methodology
Sightline scores pain and quality of life in dogs and cats with the Sightline Score: a clinical composite derived from a structured weekly assessment that branches by species, age, conditions, and concern level. The Sightline Score is not itself a validated instrument; it is a working composite informed by the published veterinary literature on pain and quality-of-life assessment, designed to make trajectory legible week-on-week. Three established instruments (FGS, JOURNEYS, HHHHHMM) are surfaced as optional add-ons where they are clinically relevant and their licence terms permit. Owner-defined goals are tracked separately via Client-Specific Outcome Measures (CSOM), a publicly described method.
The framework aligns with the WSAVA Global Pain Council guidelines, the 2022 AAHA Pain Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, the 2024 ISFM Consensus Guidelines on the Long-term Use of NSAIDs in Cats, and the 2021 AAFP Senior Care Guidelines. The Sightline-authored items and the Sightline Score composite are first-party content from ConciergeVet (Alastair Greenway MRCVS and Claire Greenway BVM&S MRCVS); the supplementary instruments retain their original authors' attribution wherever they appear.
Our approach
- Trajectory over snapshot. A single weekly score is a data point. A series across months is the clinically useful object. Sightline foregrounds the trajectory and only reveals the absolute Score from the third weekly assessment, once a baseline exists.
- Honest framing. The Sightline Score is an internal clinical composite, informed by the published veterinary literature on pain and quality-of-life assessment but not itself validated. The trajectory is the signal; the Score is its summary. Wherever the Score appears, this framing appears with it.
- Adaptive by signalment and concern level. The 44 weekly items branch on species, age, condition flags, household stairs vs outdoor inclines, and the pet's concern level (general tracking, active concern, or QoL focus). Most pets see 12 to 16 items per week; pets in QoL focus see a daily comfort-focused subset.
- Versioned scoring. Every Sightline assessment carries a scoring_logic_version stamp (sightline-core-v1.0.0 at launch). Historical scores are reproducible because the algorithm that produced them is traceable for the lifetime of the row.
- Public methodology, version-controlled. This page lives in the same source-controlled repository as the rest of the platform; founder edits are tracked and reviewable. Vets and members can read it without an account.
The headline composite
0-to-100 clinical composite from a 44-item adaptive weekly assessment branching on species, age, conditions, and concern level. Eight domains, five bands, plotted as a trajectory.
Instruments grouped by category
Acute pain
End of life
- HHHHHMMQuality of Life Scale (HHHHHMM): Hurt, Hunger, Hydration, Hygiene, Happiness, Mobility, More good days than badDog and cat
Owner-completed 7-item end-of-life quality of life scale by Dr Alice Villalobos. The hospice canonical instrument; Sightline pairs it with JOURNEYS (Dr Katie Hilst) and the daily Sightline Score check-in.
- JOURNEYSJOURNEYS: A Quality of Life Scale for Pets (Dr Katie Hilst, Journey's Home)Dog and cat
Owner-completed 8-item end-of-life scale by Dr Katie Hilst of Journey's Home, complementary to HHHHHMM. Different domain coverage and opposite directionality (higher is worse).