Protocol Builder Guide
Build species- and age-specific triage trees that run in the owner portal. Protocols are the clinical backbone of AfterHours Ally — they define which symptoms trigger which urgency levels.
Open the Protocol Builder
Navigate to Dashboard → Protocols. You'll see a list of all existing protocols for your clinic. Each protocol is scoped to a species and age group — canine-adult, feline-senior, etc.
Create a new protocol
Click "New Protocol". Choose the target species (canine, feline, avian, exotic) and age group (pediatric, adult, senior/geriatric). Give it a display name that the owner portal will show.
Configure symptom domains
Each protocol is organized into clinical domains (Gastrointestinal, Respiratory, Urinary, Neurological, etc.). Add the domains relevant to that species/age pair. Each domain becomes a step in the owner-facing triage wizard.
Add symptoms to each domain
Within each domain, add individual symptoms as checkboxes. Write them in plain owner-facing language: "Vomiting more than 3 times in 24h" rather than "emesis ×3/24h". The system maps these to internal clinical identifiers.
Assign urgency weights (optional)
Each symptom carries a default urgency weight defined by the medical review board. You can increase but not decrease the weight for individual symptoms. This ensures your clinic's protocol is at least as conservative as the baseline. Red-flag symptoms (e.g. urinary obstruction signs) are permanently locked to Emergency.
Set escalation thresholds
Define the cumulative score thresholds that map to urgency levels: Routine → self-care; Semi-Urgent → book first-available; Urgent → page on-call within 2h; Emergency → immediate call + ER routing. The defaults are tuned for primary-care small-animal practice.
Add self-care guidance
For Routine and Semi-Urgent results, attach owner-facing self-care instructions. These appear on the result screen and in any follow-up message. Keep guidance conservative — instruct when to call back rather than making treatment claims.
Preview and publish
Use the "Preview as Owner" button to walk through the protocol exactly as a pet owner would see it. When satisfied, set the status to Active. Only active protocols appear in the live owner portal.
Best practices
- —Start with Canine Adult — it covers the majority of after-hours calls for most small-animal practices.
- —Err conservative: if uncertain about a weight, leave it at default. The safety contract requires AI suggestions to agree with, not override, the deterministic engine.
- —Involve your associates when reviewing weights. Protocol sign-off by a DVM reduces liability exposure.
- —Deactivate protocols during seasonal gaps (e.g. avian protocol in winter) rather than deleting to preserve audit history.
- —Use the "Clone" button to duplicate canine-adult as a starting point for canine-senior rather than building from scratch.
Liability note: AfterHours Ally's deterministic urgency engine makes the final call — the AI layer only suggests; it never overrides. Protocols reviewed and signed off by a licensed DVM at your clinic provide the strongest defense in the event of a complaint. See the Conservative AI guide for details.