Quick Summary
A Personal Health Record (PHR) is a health file you control. It brings your lab reports, scans, prescriptions, vitals, and notes into one place, explains them in plain language, and lets you share selectively with doctors or family.
What is a Personal Health Record?
A Personal Health Record (PHR) is a collection of your health information that you maintain and manage. Unlike hospital portals, a PHR travels with you across clinics, cities, or countries. It may include PDFs, images of reports, vaccination cards, allergies, medications, and your own notes.
PHR vs EHR vs EMR
- PHR: Owned and controlled by the patient; combines records from anywhere; built for understanding and sharing.
- EHR (Electronic Health Record): Hospital/clinic system used by clinicians; comprehensive within that institution.
- EMR (Electronic Medical Record): A digital version of a single practice’s chart; limited in scope.
Think of a PHR as the complete movie of your health story; EHRs/EMRs are chapters held by individual providers.
What belongs in a Personal Health Record?
Lab & Diagnostic Reports
Blood tests, urine tests, imaging summaries (CT, MRI, X-ray), rhythm strips.
Prescriptions & Medications
Drug name, dose, frequency, start/stop dates, refills, reactions.
Allergies & Conditions
Food and drug allergies, chronic conditions, surgeries, procedures.
Vitals & Measurements
BP, glucose, temperature, weight/BMI, home-monitoring device data.
Immunizations
Vaccination dates, certificates.
Contacts & Care Team
Primary physician, specialists, emergency contacts.
Benefits of keeping a PHR
- Faster care: share the right files in seconds during emergencies or second opinions.
- Better decisions: see trends across months/years instead of isolated snapshots.
- Fewer errors: consistent medication lists and allergy history reduce risks.
- Privacy & control: you decide who sees what, and for how long.
How to create and maintain your PHR (step-by-step)
- Collect recent reports, prescriptions, discharge summaries, and vaccination cards.
- Digitize paper files: scan or photograph clearly; save as PDF or high-quality JPEG.
- Organize by date and type (labs, imaging, prescriptions). Use consistent file names.
- Standardize where possible (FHIR/ABHA fields) so data is searchable and comparable.
- Review & annotate: add plain-language notes, questions for your next visit.
- Share selectively with your doctor or caregiver; revoke access when you’re done.
- Update regularly after every test or visit; set a monthly reminder.
Security and privacy best practices
- Use strong authentication and keep your device OS up to date.
- Share via consent links, not email attachments, whenever possible.
- Store a backup in a secure cloud or encrypted drive.
- Review access logs and revoke sharing when no longer needed.
Standards and interoperability
PHRs work best when they speak the same language as clinical systems. Formats like FHIR and India’s ABHA ecosystem enable safer exchange, consistent reference ranges, and better analytics across providers.
How Aether helps
Aether brings your reports, scans, and prescriptions into one secure place, explains abnormal values in plain language, shows trends on a timeline, and lets you share with doctors or family with consent controls. It supports FHIR/ABHA-aligned fields and keeps your record useful across visits.
Related reading
Personal Health Records: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a PHR if my hospital has a portal?
Yes. Portals show data for one institution. A PHR combines records from all providers and travels with you.
What is the difference between a PHR and an EHR?
A PHR is controlled by you and can include data from anywhere. An EHR/EMR is controlled by a provider and usually limited to that organization.
Is a PHR secure?
Use strong authentication, consent-based sharing links, and keep backups in secure storage. Aether uses modern encryption and consent controls.
What format should I store files in?
PDF for documents and high-quality JPEG/PNG for images are practical. When possible, use FHIR/ABHA fields so data stays structured.
A Personal Health Record turns scattered files into a story you can understand and act on.