A family history form records a patient’s medical information, including that of previous generations, to help doctors predict genetic medical problems and provide appropriate care. It can be updated annually or when establishing a new doctor-patient relationship.
A family history form is used by doctors and medical staff to record patients’ personal medical information. Sometimes the form is updated annually, other times it is completed only when a new doctor-patient relationship is established. Regardless, it can be one of the best indicators of disease and medical conditions, particularly before conditions become problematic.
Many diseases are genetic in nature. Typically, a family history form investigates the health of family members, even of previous generations. For example, if the patient’s maternal grandmother suffered from a form of cancer, the patient would disclose this by checking a box on the form.
Typically, a family history form is easy to fill out. The patient simply checks a box or boxes or writes down basic information to indicate which family member has had an ailment or medical condition. When doctors are informed of his family’s medical history, it gives them one more way to check for disease. For example, if a patient’s family has a history of high blood pressure, the doctor should check the patient’s blood pressure regularly to make sure that she, too, does not have high blood pressure.
In most cases, a family history form will ask the patient to indicate whether immediate family members, such as grandparents, parents, and siblings, are alive or deceased. If they are deceased, the form will usually ask how they died and at what age. Again, the information is useful to physicians who are trying to predict a patient’s genetic medical problems. Potential medical problems can often be prevented with appropriate preventive and medical care.
Also, many medical conditions recur. This means that even if they have been cured once, they can recur again and again. For example, if a patient once had hypertension, it should be noted on the family history form. High blood pressure may be under control and may never be a problem again or may recur every few years, putting the patient at risk for more serious problems.
Sometimes a patient may not be aware of specifics to his or her family history. For example, you may know that a grandfather died when you were young, but you may not know the cause of death. With the right amount of preparation, the cause of death can be discovered from other relatives and even historical medical records. Finding the specifics for a family history form can take some time, but it can also save the life of the patient and her descendants.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
