November 2005

Computerized tool helps families gather health info

Calling on all Americans to “know their family history,” U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona, MD, MPH, has unveiled an updated version of a computerized tool designed to help families gather their health information, and praised Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for joining in to expand the Surgeon General’s Family Health Initiative.

This updated, Web-based version of “My Family Health Portrait” is free and available online at available at www.hhs.gov/familyhistory. The application organizes family health information into a printout that people can take to healthcare professionals to help determine whether they are at higher risk for disease. It is intended to make the process of gathering a detailed family history easier and more efficient for both patients and healthcare professionals.

“My Family Health Portrait” guides users through a series of screens that helps them compile information about six common diseases for each of their family members, as well as enter information about any other conditions not on the list that are of particular interest to the family. The tool focuses on six common diseases because a genetic contribution is known for each, and because a preventive strategy can be developed to avoid illnesses.

Users also will still have the option to download the original “My Family Health Portrait” software and install it on their computers if they have the Windows operating system. As is the case with the new, Web-based version of the tool, all personal information will reside on the user’s computer only.

Free, print versions of the tool in both English and Spanish are also available at the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Additional information about the U.S. Surgeon General’s Family History initiative is available at www.hhs.gov/familyhistory.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.hhs.gov/

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