Introducing the EMHA Migraine Scoring System

A new tool designed by Europe’s leading migraine specialists to help patients, physicians, and society to better understand and communicate about migraine.

Takes less than 2 minutes · 100% anonymous

Why do we need a new scoring system?

Currently, migraine is an invisible burden, often ignored or minimized by both society and healthcare systems. Traditional assessment tools rarely reflect the real impact of migraine on daily life, emotional well-being, and work performance.

This project presents a new tool designed to facilitate the communication between patients and physicians. It offers a simple and reliable way to track and discuss migraine experiences in real time, covering treatment effectiveness, attack frequency, pain intensity, and overall impact.

By making the language of migraine clearer and more consistent, our goal is to help patients, doctors, and society finally speak the same language about this complex condition.

What makes the EMHA Scoring System different?

Takes less than 2 minutes · 100% anonymous

How does it work?

The Migraine Scoring System is a simple self-assessment tool developed to help people understand how migraine impacts their daily life. The system classifies migraine severity into four levels, based on the outcome of an algorithm that processes answers to four key questions regarding:

Attack frequency

Pain intensity

Attack intensity

(Other symptoms)

Acute treatment reliability

These four levels have been rigorously researched, reviewed, compared, and analyzed against established scales such as MIDAS and HIT-6, and have been tested and validated with patients.

Note: The scoring system does not replace the IHS Classification for diagnostic purposes.

Once you answer, the tool generates a numerical score summarizing your migraine impact.  You can use this score to discuss your symptoms with your doctor or track changes over time.

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Why it’s not a self-diagnosis tool

The score does not tell you which medication to take or confirm whether you have migraine.
It’s meant to complement—not replace—medical advice.
Its purpose is to support communication between patients and healthcare professionals, not to provide or suggest a diagnosis.

So instead of offering medical conclusions, it helps you and your doctor have a clearer, data-based conversation about your symptoms and progress.

Developed by a European scientific committee

This tool was created under the leadership of the European Migraine & Headache Alliance, in collaboration with leading headache specialists from across Europe.