# Start a personal health record for your aging parent in one afternoon > How to build a personal health record for an aging parent: what goes in it, paper vs app, where to get the data, and how to keep it current. Canonical: https://getparentfile.com/guides/personal-health-record-for-parent Updated: 2026-11-03 ยท Publisher: ParentFile Organizational guidance for families. Not medical or legal advice. ## Short answer A personal health record (PHR) is one place where your family keeps your parent's health information: doctors, conditions, medications, allergies, test results and which legal documents exist. Unlike a doctor's or hospital's electronic health record, it is kept by the patient or family and can combine information from every provider, but it does not replace the doctors' own records. To start one, ask your parent, photograph every pill bottle label, list the care team, and gather what the pharmacy, patient portals and Medicare already have. Choose one format the family will actually update, keep access to the people who need it, and review it after every appointment or hospital stay. > This guide is general information for families. It is not medical or legal advice. # Start a personal health record for your aging parent in one afternoon *Updated November 3, 2026. This guide is general information for families. It is not medical or legal advice.* Your parent sees a cardiologist, a primary care doctor and an eye doctor. Each one has a chart, and none of the charts talk to each other. When something goes wrong, the only person who can tell the ER the whole story is whoever happens to have it in their head. A personal health record fixes that by putting the story in one place that you, and your siblings, can reach. Below: what a personal health record is, what to put in it, where to get the information, paper versus app, and how to keep it from going stale. ## What a personal health record is A personal health record, often shortened to PHR, is a collection of information about a person's health that the patient (or the family) keeps and controls. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' health IT office describes it as including things like care providers, diagnoses, medications, allergies, immunizations, test results and family medical history (HealthIT.gov, ONC). Two points from the same source are worth remembering. First, a PHR is controlled by the patient and can combine information from several providers, whereas an electronic health record (EHR) is kept by a provider and usually holds only that provider's information. Second, a PHR does not replace a doctor's legal medical record. It is your family's working copy. A personal health record comes in two common shapes: - **Standalone.** You fill it in yourself, on paper, in a spreadsheet or in an app. - **Linked to a provider or plan.** A patient portal or insurer account that shows records from that one source. It is useful, but it only knows what that one source knows. Most families end up with both: portals as the source of facts, and one family-owned record that pulls the pieces together. ## What goes in a personal health record for a parent Johns Hopkins Medicine's guidance for families on getting medical records organized suggests keeping the most recent year of records easy to reach, plus a few lasting items: personal and family health history, visit notes and hospital discharge summaries, pharmacy printouts for each medication, test results, insurance forms and legal documents such as a living will and medical power of attorney. Turned into a starter list: 1. **Who they are.** Name, date of birth, address, preferred language, emergency contacts. 2. **Care team.** Every doctor, specialist, pharmacy and clinic, with phone numbers and what each one treats. 3. **Conditions and history.** Diagnoses, surgeries, hospital stays, with dates as best you know. 4. **Medications.** Name, dose, how often, what it is for, who prescribed it, which pharmacy. See our [medication list guide](https://getparentfile.com/guides/medication-list-for-elderly-parent). 5. **Allergies and reactions.** Including what happened. 6. **Test results and screenings.** At least the latest of each, so changes can be compared. 7. **Insurance.** Plan names and member numbers belong on the card itself, not typed into a shared file. Record which plans exist and where the cards are kept. 8. **Legal documents.** Whether a healthcare power of attorney, advance directive or POLST exists, and where the original is. See [documents for aging parents](https://getparentfile.com/guides/documents-for-aging-parents). Leave out what you do not need: full Social Security numbers, bank details and passwords do not belong in a health record. ## Where to get the information You do not have to type from memory. Real sources, roughly in order of ease: - **The medicine cabinet.** Photograph each pill bottle label. Pharmacy labels carry the drug, strength, instructions and prescriber. - **Pharmacy printouts.** Ask the pharmacy for a current medication list. - **Patient portals.** If your parent has one, it often shows medications, test results and visit summaries. - **Medicare.** With a Medicare account, your parent can download their claims data to print or share with someone they trust. Original Medicare claims include Part A, Part B and Part D; for Medicare Advantage the data covers drug claims only, so check with the plan about its own tools ([Medicare.gov](https://www.medicare.gov/manage-your-health/share-your-medicare-claims)). Treat any downloaded file like banking information. - **Doctors' offices and hospitals.** Federal law gives your parent the right to see and get a copy of their health records. the HHS Office for Civil Rights explains this right in its guidance for consumers, and our guide to [organizing a parent's medical information](https://getparentfile.com/guides/organize-parents-medical-information) walks through requesting them. ## Permission: whose record is it? It is your parent's health information, so the practical rule is simple: ask. A parent who is sharp can tell you what to write and sign a [HIPAA authorization](https://getparentfile.com/guides/hipaa-release-form-for-parent) so providers can talk to you. If your parent can no longer decide for themselves, a [healthcare power of attorney](https://getparentfile.com/guides/healthcare-power-of-attorney-for-parent) that is in effect usually settles who may ask for records. Writing down what you see on the bottles in the house, or what your parent chooses to tell you, needs no one's permission. ## Paper, spreadsheet or app? Pick the format your whole family will actually update. - **Paper binder or folder.** Works when there is no internet or no smartphone. Hard to copy, easy to lose. Keep a second copy somewhere else. - **Spreadsheet or shared document.** Free, easy to edit, easy to share. Needs discipline about who can open it. - **App.** Convenient if it makes sharing easy. Check who makes it, what it does with the data and what happens if you stop paying. If you want a printable starting point for the most urgent part, the [free one-page ER sheet](https://getparentfile.com/free-er-sheet) and the [medical information sheet guide](https://getparentfile.com/guides/medical-information-sheet-for-parent) cover the emergency basics on one page. ![One-page ER sheet generated from a parent's medication list (demo data)](https://getparentfile.com/images/product/one-page-er-sheet.webp "700x905") ## Privacy: is your parent's health record protected by HIPAA? Often, no. HIPAA covers health care providers, health plans and their business associates. Information you place into an app or file you chose yourself is generally outside it. The FTC's updated Health Breach Notification Rule fills part of the gap: it applies to vendors of personal health records and related entities that are not covered by HIPAA, and it requires them to notify people and the FTC after a breach of unsecured health data (FTC, 2024). That is a notice rule, not a promise that nothing can go wrong. Before you put a parent's information anywhere, check three things: what the privacy policy says about sharing and selling data, whether you can delete everything, and whether you can export your data if you leave. Lock the device or the folder, and give access only to the siblings who need it. See also our guide to [choosing a caregiver app](https://getparentfile.com/guides/caregiver-app-for-aging-parents). ## Keep it current: a five-minute routine A record is only as good as its last update. Make updating part of the visit itself: 1. After each appointment, change the medication list and add one line of notes. 2. After any hospital stay, add the discharge summary and update the medicines. 3. Every three months, sit down with your parent and read the whole thing aloud. 4. Always keep a current copy where an emergency responder or sibling can find it. ## Where ParentFile fits ParentFile is an organization tool, not a medical record system and not a source of medical advice. You photograph your parent's pill bottles, confirm each item yourself, and add allergies, conditions, doctors and insurance details. The documents map records whether each document exists, where the original is kept and who holds a copy; it does not store scans. From that, ParentFile produces a one-page ER sheet and wallet cards, and siblings can open a view-only link. It does not check interactions or suggest doses, and each sheet reminds you to verify the list with the prescriber or pharmacist. For how ParentFile handles health data, see its [privacy](https://getparentfile.com/privacy) and [consumer health data](https://getparentfile.com/consumer-health-data) pages. To see whether it fits your family, start with the [free one-page ER sheet](https://getparentfile.com/free-er-sheet) or look at the [ParentFile kit](https://getparentfile.com/checkout). ## Printable checklist: start your parent's record - [ ] Asked my parent, and explained what the record is for - [ ] Listed every doctor, specialist and the pharmacy - [ ] Photographed every pill bottle label - [ ] Wrote down allergies and past reactions - [ ] Noted conditions, surgeries and hospital stays - [ ] Noted whether a healthcare POA, advance directive or POLST exists and where the original is - [ ] Downloaded or requested records my parent agreed to share - [ ] Chose one format (paper, spreadsheet or app) the family will update - [ ] Gave access only to the people who need it - [ ] Put a copy of the ER basics where a sibling or responder can find it - [ ] Set a review date three months from now ## Frequently asked questions ### What is a personal health record? A personal health record is a collection of health information that you or your parent keeps and controls: doctors, diagnoses, medications, allergies, test results, immunizations and family history. It can live on paper, in a spreadsheet or in an app, and it can combine information from several providers. It does not replace the doctors' own medical records. ### Is a personal health record the same as an electronic health record? No. An electronic health record (EHR) is kept by a doctor's office or hospital, mainly for its own staff, and usually holds only that provider's information. A personal health record is kept by the patient or family and can pull together information from every provider. ### Can I start a personal health record for my parent? Yes, as a family organizing tool you can write down what your parent tells you and what you can see on their own bottles and papers. To get information from doctors or insurers you generally need your parent's permission, for example a HIPAA authorization, or a healthcare power of attorney that is in effect. ### Are personal health record apps covered by HIPAA? Usually not. HIPAA covers health care providers, health plans and their business associates. An app you choose on your own generally falls outside it, although the FTC's Health Breach Notification Rule can apply. Read an app's privacy policy before you enter a parent's information. ### How often should a personal health record be updated? Update it after every appointment, hospital stay or medication change, and review the whole record every few months. An out-of-date medication list is worse than none, so the update habit matters more than the format. ## Sources - [Share your Medicare claims](https://www.medicare.gov/manage-your-health/share-your-medicare-claims), Medicare.gov (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)