The ten-minute constraint
A typical first-opinion consultation runs ten to fifteen minutes, including history taking, physical examination, discussion and notes. Any data presented must be absorbable within that.
Handing a clinician raw telemetry is worse than handing them nothing, because it consumes time without producing insight.
What clinicians said they use
We interviewed veterinary professionals across first-opinion and referral practice while designing our reporting format. Their priorities were consistent and narrow.
- Trend direction over absolute values, with a clear baseline for comparison.
- Dated onset of change, which frames the differential diagnosis.
- Objective weight history rather than owner recollection.
- Water intake and appetite, both notoriously unreliable when self-reported.
- Night-time activity, which owners simply cannot report.
What they described as noise
Step counts without context, sleep scores presented as a single unexplained number, and any metric with no defined baseline were all identified as unhelpful.
Wellness scores drew particular criticism. A composite number that cannot be decomposed into its inputs is not clinically actionable, however reassuring it looks in an app.
How we structured reports
Our health reports lead with a one-page summary: baseline ranges, trend direction with dates, and any flagged anomalies with severity. Supporting charts follow for anything the clinician wants to interrogate.
Crucially, every conclusion links to the raw data behind it. Clinicians should not be asked to trust an algorithm they cannot inspect.
The professional relationship
Monitoring technology works best as a bridge to veterinary care, not a substitute for it. The goal is a better-informed consultation with a professional who can examine, diagnose and treat.
Owners who treat their data as a conversation starter rather than a diagnosis consistently get the most value from it.