HHS HealthBeat (January 19, 2009)

Better family history

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Doctors often don’t want just to know how you are. They want to know how your family is. The family health history can alert doctors to conditions that can run in families – for instance, some types of cancer and heart disease.

And now there’s a new, improved way to keep track. It’s an Internet-based system, called My Family Health Portrait, from the Office of the Surgeon General.

Acting Surgeon General Steven Galson says My Family Health Portrait can let you keep the files private. But he says there’s another option, with more benefit.

[Acting Surgeon General Steven Galson speaks] ``In this electronic format, you can share the information easily with other family members so that they can help add to it. And you can easily convey it to your practitioner as well.’’

So you might spend less time filling out forms at the doctor’s office.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss

Last revised: January, 27 2009