Quick Summary
The PHR is shifting from storage to infrastructure. The new baseline is a patient timeline with structured data, provenance, and shareable workflows. Once the timeline exists, prevention, coordination, and AI become possible.
Why storage is not enough
Patients already have storage. It is called a phone gallery, email, and PDFs. The problem is not possession. The problem is usability and continuity.
A folder does not create a timeline. It does not connect events. It does not show progression.
The infrastructure shift
Infrastructure is the layer that other workflows depend on. In healthcare, that means a longitudinal record that can be used across visits, providers, and institutions.
- Longitudinal timeline across labs, imaging, prescriptions, and notes
- Structured extraction from documents and images
- Provenance back to source documents
- Sharing workflows that fit real care
- Governance for retention, deletion, and audit
Why this unlocks prevention
Prevention depends on trends, baselines, and continuity. Once you can see change over time, you can detect risk earlier and coordinate follow ups with far less friction.
Why this unlocks safe AI
AI is most useful when grounded in complete context. A timeline plus provenance allows summaries and insights that can be verified and audited. This is how automation becomes trustworthy.
Where Aether fits
Aether is built as a longitudinal health layer: ingest any medical data, structure it, preserve provenance, and make sharing easy. The goal is a health graph that helps patients and clinicians see the whole picture.
Sources and further reading
- ONC: Patient access to information overview
- WHO: Digital health overview
- HL7 FHIR overview (structure for exchange and continuity)
Information only. Not medical advice.
Next steps
- Build a timeline, not a folder.
- Require provenance so outputs are auditable.
- Make sharing as easy as sending a link, with control.