FamilyConnect™
Patient-Controlled Sharing and Critical Access
FamilyConnect gives patients a private portal to share blogs, video, photos, and messages with the people they choose. It is not limited to family. Patients can add whoever they want to their group, manage access through their own username and password, and keep critical items like wills, POA records, last wishes, and advanced directives in one place instead of letting them get lost when they matter most.
Sharing Scope
Patients choose their own group
Shared Content
Blogs, photos, video, messages
Account Access
Assigned username plus private password
Critical Records
Will, POA, directives, last wishes
Delegated Control
Patient or designated POA can manage access
Core Purpose
Keep updates and vital records reachable
Access & Continuity
What Gets Lost
- Patient updates are fragmented across texts, email chains, social apps, and random shared drives.
- Critical documents go missing when wills, POA records, last wishes, and advanced directives are needed quickly.
- Access is often informal with no clear ownership, no private login discipline, and no acknowledgement of proper use.
Patients Need One Place They Control
FamilyConnect is not meant to be restricted to family members only. The patient decides who belongs in their circle. That may include relatives, friends, carers, advocates, or anyone else the patient trusts to stay informed and connected.
Not Everything Important Is Medical
Some of the most critical items in a crisis are not lab values or appointment notes. They are the documents and instructions that tell people what the patient wanted, who can act for them, and where the legal authority sits if the patient loses capacity.
The Goal
Give each patient a private, patient-controlled portal where updates, memories, messages, and critical access items can live together, so the right people can find the right information when they actually need it.
Use Cases
Private Patient Updates
A patient wants one place to post recovery updates, short blog entries, photos, and videos for the people they trust, without scattering those updates across multiple platforms.
POA-Managed Readiness
A patient designates a power of attorney to upload and maintain legal records, advanced directives, and last wishes so nothing has to be reconstructed under pressure later.
Beyond Family-Only Access
A patient includes a close friend, neighbour, informal caregiver, and adult child in the same group because real support networks do not always match a traditional family tree.
Critical Document Retrieval
During a sudden hospital admission, the right person can quickly retrieve the will, POA documentation, advanced directives, and last wishes instead of guessing where they were last saved.
Why It Matters
When Information Is Needed, It Is Usually Needed Fast
Critical information is often scattered across phones, inboxes, filing cabinets, and the memories of stressed relatives. FamilyConnect gives the patient control over who can see updates, who can message inside the group, and where vital documents can be found in an emergency.
The value is not just in sharing ordinary updates. It is in making sure the right people can access the right records and context without confusion when the stakes are higher.
How It Works
Patient-Controlled From The Start
FamilyConnect starts with a private account, not a public social feed. The patient is assigned a username, sets their own password, and uses the portal to decide what gets shared and who gets access.
Basic Flow
- Account setup: the patient receives a username and creates their own password for personal use.
- Acknowledgement: the patient confirms their access is for their own use and that they cannot casually share sensitive information outside the intended group.
- Group creation: the patient adds the people they want in their circle. It is not limited to family members.
- Content sharing: blogs, photos, videos, and messages are posted inside that group.
- Critical uploads: the patient or designated POA uploads wills, POA records, last wishes, and advanced directives for secure access when needed.
Operational Principle
The portal should reduce scrambling, not create more of it. The point is to make updates easier to share and make critical records easier to find, with clear ownership around who can access and manage the account.
Design Principle
Keep ordinary sharing simple, and keep extraordinary moments from turning into a search exercise for documents that should have been reachable all along.
Access & Account Controls
Patient Account Model
- Assigned username: each patient receives an account identity tied to the portal.
- Private password creation: the patient creates and controls their own password.
- Own-use acknowledgement: access is intended for the account holder and should not be shared casually.
- Controlled sharing: the patient decides which people can see updates, posts, and files.
Designated POA Support
- Document administration: a designated POA can upload and maintain key documents when appropriate.
- Continuity support: POA access helps prevent critical records from disappearing when the patient becomes unwell.
- Shared responsibility: the portal supports patient-led use while recognising that some people need delegated help.
Portal Guardrails
- Invite-based participation: the patient chooses who belongs in the group.
- Sensitive-content discipline: the portal is meant for trusted sharing, not uncontrolled redistribution.
- One place for continuity: ordinary updates and critical access items live under the same access model.
Critical Access Vault
The Documents People Forget Until They Need Them
FamilyConnect gives the patient or designated POA one place to upload and share the records that become critical during incapacity, emergency decision-making, or end-of-life transitions.
Core Categories
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Legal Documents | Will, power of attorney records, healthcare proxy forms, advanced directives, DNR documentation, guardianship paperwork. |
| Critical Instructions | Last wishes, end-of-life preferences, care instructions, emergency contacts, provider details, insurance information. |
| Shared Continuity Items | Blog updates, photo collections, important videos, message history, and other context the patient wants their group to have. |
Emergency Scenario
A patient becomes suddenly unwell and cannot explain where their paperwork is. The people trying to help need the will, POA information, advanced directives, and last wishes quickly. Instead of chasing paper copies and old email attachments, the critical access vault gives them one place to look.
Media and Group Sharing
- Private blog space: patients can post updates in one controlled place.
- Photo and video sharing: key moments and records can be shared with the chosen group.
- Messaging inside the portal: the group can communicate around the patient’s updates and needs.
- Not family-only: the patient can include whoever they want in that circle.
Security Architecture
- Private login discipline: username and password access helps establish clear account ownership.
- Granular permissions: the patient controls which people are included.
- POA continuity: designated support can maintain access to key records when appropriate.
- Healthcare-grade intent: the portal is built around sensitive legal and care-related information, not casual public posting.
CareHub Ecosystem
FamilyConnect sits inside the broader CareHub ecosystem as the patient-facing continuity layer for private sharing, document readiness, and controlled group communication.
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| CareHub Vitals | Track symptoms, medications, vitals, and continuity data that may need to be shared with the patient’s support circle. |
| Provider and Care Coordination | Connect clinical workflows, provider communication, and structured records that sit alongside patient-controlled sharing. |
| FamilyConnect | Private blogs, photos, videos, messaging, and critical access documents controlled by the patient or designated POA. |
Privacy & Permissions
Private By Intention
FamilyConnect is meant to support trusted access, not uncontrolled circulation. The patient owns the access model, and the portal should make that responsibility explicit.
Core Controls
| Control | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Assigned username | Establishes a defined account identity for the patient. |
| Patient-created password | Keeps sign-in under the patient’s own control. |
| Own-use acknowledgement | Reinforces that access is personal and not meant for casual credential sharing. |
| Invite-based group access | Lets the patient include whoever they trust, not only relatives. |
| POA-supported management | Allows continuity for document handling when the patient needs designated help. |
The point of these controls is practical: protect the patient’s privacy while making sure the right people can still find the right information when circumstances become serious.