Hermly Early access

Evidence reports

When chronic migraine
needs to be proved, not just described.

Hermly's Evidence Report turns 6 to 24 months of logged migraine attacks into a single PDF — dated, timestamped, and labelled in the language a VA adjudicator, an HR office, or a disability-insurance reviewer asks for. Generated on your iPhone. Hermly never sees the file.

Reading time · 6 min Last updated · May 2026

In one paragraph

The Hermly Evidence Report is a longitudinal PDF dossier of every migraine attack a user logged in the Hermly iOS app over the past 6, 12, or 24 months. Each attack is dated, timestamped, and flagged with whether it was prostrating (per the VA's own language), whether the patient missed work, and whether emergency or hospital care was required. Hermly generates the PDF entirely on the iPhone and hands it to the iOS share sheet — Hermly's servers never see the file or the underlying attacks. The dossier exists for three audiences: VA disability rating evidence (38 CFR §4.124a, Diagnostic Code 8100), FMLA / employer leave documentation (29 CFR §825), and private disability insurance claims. Hermly does not file claims, render medical opinions, or promise rating outcomes — the PDF is patient-collected evidence, nothing more.

What this exists for

Chronic migraine doesn't survive a 15-minute exam.

The disabling pattern of chronic migraine is months of dated, repeating attacks — not a single visit. When that pattern needs to be shown to someone other than your treating neurologist — an insurance reviewer, an HR office, a VA C&P examiner — the burden of recalling every incident usually falls on the patient.

That recall is unreliable. Chronic-migraine patients live in episodes, not calendars. The exam slot is 20 to 30 minutes. The evidence packet asks you to summarise a year of pain in a single page. The result is under-documented severity, missed-work days that don't show up in any record, and rating decisions that miss the actual frequency of prostrating events.

The Evidence Report exists so the patient walks in already holding the longitudinal record — generated from data they've already been logging, in the form the reviewing party asks for.

What the PDF looks like

A sample dossier, layout-true.

The example below uses illustrative numbers — your actual report uses only the attacks you've logged in Hermly. Every field below comes from a real layer of the Hermly data model.

Self-reported, dated, timestamped patient evidence.

Evidence dossier · last 6 months

Patient · age 41 · migraines since 2014 · Report ID 8f2a3d
Executive summary
12
migraine attacks
6
prostrating attacks
6
missed-work days
1
ER visit
Monthly breakdown
Month Attacks Prostrating Work-days ER
Nov 2025 2 1 1 0
Dec 2025 1 0 0 0
Jan 2026 3 2 2 0
Feb 2026 2 1 1 0
Mar 2026 2 1 1 0
Apr 2026 2 1 1 1
Chronological attack log (latest 4 of 12)
Date Dur Pain Flags Meds
Apr 27 5h 12m 8 P · W Sumatriptan 50mg
Apr 12 3h 40m 7 W Sumatriptan 50mg
Mar 24 7h 28m 9 P · W · E Sumatriptan 100mg
Mar 9 4h 05m 6 — Naproxen 500mg
P Prostrating W Missed work E ER visit

The exported PDF includes a methodology page with definitions, a full executive summary, a half-vs-half trend table (when the window is at least 6 months), the per-month rollup, the chronological attack ledger with medications, and a treatments-tried summary with observed time-to-relief. A reviewer reading the document sees Hermly's full methodology before any number — every count is traceable back to a dated attack the patient logged themselves.

  • Cover — patient header, window, report ID.
  • Methodology + disclaimer — what the data is, what it is not.
  • Executive summary — five top-line counts.
  • Trend over the window — first-half vs second-half side-by-side, in attacks/month, prostrating/month, and missed-work days. Visible only when the window is ≥ 6 months. No "improving" / "worsening" verdicts — pure numbers, the reader interprets.
  • Monthly breakdown — every month in the window, rolled up.
  • Chronological attack ledger — every attack, dated, with flags.
  • Medications & treatments tried — with observed 2-hour resolution rate.

Who generates one

Three composite scenarios.

Hermly does not publish testimonials we can't verify. The scenarios below are composites — built from the user situations the Evidence Report exists to serve, not from a single real person's case. Each names the underlying problem and what the dossier does about it.

Composite scenario · veteran

Filing for a VA migraine rating increase

A veteran tracked her attacks in Hermly for 14 months while waiting on a rating increase appeal. Her current rating sits at 10%; she believes her actual pattern would support a higher band under 38 CFR §4.124a, Diagnostic Code 8100. Her C&P exam is a single 30-minute conversation about events from months ago.

The problem: the exam relies on recall of episodic events spread across a year. Severity that occurred between visits doesn't make it onto any record.

What the Evidence Report does: turns 14 months of dated, timestamped attacks — including which ones were prostrating, which forced her to miss work, and which required emergency care — into a single PDF her VSO submits alongside her treatment records as supporting evidence. The document doesn't argue for a rating; it shows what happened.

Composite scenario · employee

Requesting intermittent FMLA leave

A software engineer with episodic migraine asks her employer's HR office for intermittent FMLA leave under 29 CFR §825 so she can take partial sick days without burning accrued PTO each time. HR requires documentation of the condition's frequency and impact in addition to her clinician's certification.

The problem: her doctor's certification attests to the diagnosis, but HR also wants concrete evidence of impact — distinct missed-work days, attack frequency, treatments tried. She has none of that in a single document.

What the Evidence Report does: produces a 12-month rollup with distinct missed-work day counts, attack dates, and medication history. HR has everything they need in one PDF; her clinician's form covers the diagnostic side.

Composite scenario · insured patient

Disability insurance claim review

A private-sector employee files a short-term disability claim after his migraine frequency spikes and he has to reduce his hours. The insurer asks for evidence of the condition's persistence and impact on daily activities over the past year, on top of his treating neurologist's records.

The problem: his clinic visits are quarterly. The episodes between visits are documented only in his memory. The insurer's evidence packet asks him to summarise that year on a form.

What the Evidence Report does: a 24-month dossier shows the trend: rising attack frequency, increasing prostrating days, expanding medication trial. The insurer reads it alongside the neurologist's notes; the picture matches between the two documents.

How it's made

Three steps. No upload.

  1. 1

    Log attacks as they happen

    Start each attack from the Action Button, Lock Screen widget, Apple Watch, or in-app button. Record pain, take your medications, end the attack when it resolves. Every field stays on your iPhone.

  2. 2

    Mark the evidence flags

    Open Settings → Evidence report → pick a 6, 12, or 24-month window. Tap Mark remaining attacks. For each attack, mark prostrating / missed work / ER / hospitalized. Definitions follow the VA's own language.

  3. 3

    Share the PDF

    Tap the share icon. Hermly renders the PDF on the iPhone and hands it to the iOS share sheet. From there it goes wherever you choose — your VSO, your HR office, your insurance adjuster, your clinician. Hermly never sees it.

VA disability rating · deep dive

How the Evidence Report maps to 38 CFR §4.124a, DC 8100.

The VA's migraine rating schedule is unusual: it does not score severity continuously. It scores it against a small number of specific criteria around prostrating attack frequency and the condition's effect on economic inadaptability. The exact rating tiers are published by the VA in 38 CFR §4.124a, Diagnostic Code 8100.

The Evidence Report does not tell a veteran which tier their pattern supports. That judgment belongs to the VA — and to the veteran's VSO or accredited attorney, who knows the appellant's full record. What the Evidence Report does is render the underlying facts in the schedule's own vocabulary, so a reviewer reading it recognises the language.

VA rating concept
Hermly field
"Prostrating attack"
isProstrating · binary, with the VA's own definition surfaced inline before each toggle
Frequency over an extended period
Monthly breakdown table, 6 to 24-month window
Severe economic inadaptability
Distinct causedMissedWork days, counted per VA convention (same-day attacks collapse to one day)
Acute medical intervention
requiredERVisit and wasHospitalized
Treatment history
Medications tried, with observed 2-hour resolution count and observational denominator

Two definitions worth quoting verbatim, because they appear on every toggle in Hermly's Backfill flow:

Prostrating · The patient stopped activities and lay down in a darkened room. Not relieved by typical measures (heat, rest, OTC analgesic). This is the word VA disability uses; it has a specific meaning.
Missed-work day · The patient missed scheduled work, school, or caregiving duties for some part of the day because of this attack. Two attacks on the same day count as one missed day, not two — matching VA distinct-day counting.

Privacy

The report stays on your iPhone.

The Evidence Report is generated by code running inside the Hermly iOS app, against the SwiftData store on the same iPhone. The resulting PDF is written to a temporary file in the app's sandbox and handed to the iOS share sheet. From there, the user picks the destination — Mail, Files, AirDrop, Messages, their VSO's intake portal — and the OS handles the transfer.

Hermly's servers never see the PDF, the underlying attack records, or the four evidence flags. The backend exists for three things only: the landing page you are reading, the StoreKit subscription state for Hermly Pro, and anonymous usage counters that contain no health values. This is the same privacy posture documented on the privacy promise page.

Important practical implication: only the user can send the report. Hermly cannot retrieve it after the fact, cannot resend it, and cannot share it with a third party on the user's behalf. If a VSO loses the file, the user regenerates and re-shares from the iPhone.

What the Evidence Report is not

Important limits.

Not a medical diagnosis

Hermly is not FDA-cleared as a medical device, does not diagnose any condition, and the Evidence Report contains no language that diagnoses, treats, cures, or prevents migraine. The data is self-reported.

Not a legal document

The PDF is patient evidence. It is not sworn testimony, not an affidavit, and not a substitute for a clinician's certification, a VSO's analysis, or an attorney's filing.

Not a claim-filing service

Hermly does not file VA claims, FMLA paperwork, or insurance claims. The user generates the PDF and decides where it goes. Hermly has no involvement in any submission to any agency.

Not a rating prediction

The report never tells a veteran which VA rating their pattern "should" support. The Evidence Report shows the underlying facts in the regulation's vocabulary; rating decisions belong to the VA, the VSO, and the patient.

Common questions

FAQ.

What is a Hermly Evidence Report?

A 6 to 24-month PDF dossier of every migraine attack logged in the Hermly iPhone app. Each attack is dated, timestamped, and labelled with whether it was prostrating, whether the patient missed work, and whether ER or hospital care was required. Generated on-device; Hermly never sees the data.

Can I use the Evidence Report for a VA disability claim?

Yes — as patient-collected supporting evidence. The report maps to the language used in 38 CFR §4.124a Diagnostic Code 8100, which is the VA's migraine rating schedule. The report is not a claim filing and Hermly is not a VSO or a medical provider; you (or your VSO/attorney) submit it as part of your evidence package.

What does prostrating mean in the VA's migraine criteria?

A prostrating migraine attack is one that forces the patient to stop activities and lie down in a darkened room, and is not relieved by typical measures like rest, heat, or OTC analgesics. The VA uses this term in 38 CFR §4.124a to differentiate migraine severity for rating purposes.

Can I use the Evidence Report for FMLA leave?

Yes — as part of the documentation an employer's HR office requires to certify a chronic serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 CFR §825). The Evidence Report shows distinct missed-work days, attack frequency, and treatments tried. Your clinician's certification form is still required separately.

Does Hermly file my disability claim?

No. Hermly only generates the PDF; you decide where it goes. Hermly is not a claim-filing service, not a VSO, not an attorney, and not a medical provider. The PDF is patient evidence — what you do with it is yours alone.

How far back can the Evidence Report go?

Up to 24 months. The report only includes attacks that were logged in Hermly during that window. If you started tracking attacks in Hermly six months ago, only those six months appear — Hermly does not invent or backfill events you didn't record.

Is the Evidence Report a medical or legal document?

No. It is patient-reported evidence, generated from data the user logged themselves. Hermly is not a medical device, does not diagnose or treat any condition, and the PDF is not a substitute for a clinician's certification or a legal filing.

Does my health data leave my iPhone when I generate a report?

No. The Evidence Report is rendered entirely on the iPhone. It is written to a temporary file and handed to the iOS share sheet for the user to send wherever they choose. Hermly's servers never receive the report content or the underlying attack data.

What's the difference between the Doctor Report and the Evidence Report?

Doctor Report is a 30-day clinical snapshot for a neurologist visit — trigger correlations, MOH risk, topics to discuss. Evidence Report is a 6 to 24-month longitudinal dossier of every attack, sized for an adjudicator or HR office. Same underlying data, different audience and shape.

Does the VA accept patient-collected migraine evidence?

The VA evaluates the totality of the evidence, including buddy statements, lay statements, and patient-maintained logs. The Evidence Report is a structured form of the patient-maintained log — it does not replace a C&P exam or treatment records, but is commonly submitted alongside them as supporting evidence.

Compared to

Doctor Report vs Evidence Report.

Same data store, two different audiences and shapes. Pro users get both — most generate a Doctor Report before a neurology visit and an Evidence Report when a claim or HR office asks for one.

Dimension
Doctor Report
Evidence Report
Audience
Neurologist, headache specialist
VA adjudicator, VSO, HR office, insurance reviewer
Window
30 days (current month)
6, 12, or 24 months
Shape
Aggregated stats + trigger correlations
Monthly rollup + per-attack chronological ledger
Distinctive fields
Mean pain, mean duration, trigger odds ratios, MOH exposure
Prostrating count, missed-work days, ER visits, hospitalizations
Tone
"Here's what to discuss"
"Here's what happened, dated and timestamped"

Early access

Hermly is in private beta.

Evidence reports are part of Hermly Pro alongside Doctor reports, the Watch app, AI summaries, and the year-end report. Leave your email and we'll write when there's something real to show.

Self-reported, not medically diagnosed. Hermly does not file claims and does not give legal advice.