Tracking Personal and Family Medical History

According to the WHO, 17.9 million people die from cardiovascular diseases, 4.1 million from diabetes, and 2 million from cancer annually, which are potentially the most common genetically inherited diseases. Being aware of these and tracking personal and family history will help assess your susceptibility to these and take early preventive action. Understanding your family medical history can help your doctor to guide you in preventive and protective measures and make lifestyle adjustments relevant to your unique risks.

To effectively track your personal and family medical history:

• Develop a family health portrait: Construct a family tree detailing blood relatives, their current and past diseases, drug allergies, age of onset, cause of death and genetic conditions by using a medical history template. This information
• Organised personal health records: Maintain a concise record of your current or past chronic conditions, surgeries, medications (including names, dosages, and frequencies), vaccinations, and screening test results for efficient healthcare management. Update any changes in this record.

  

• Record lifestyle factors: Take note of your habits—tobacco, alcohol, and substance abuse alongside diet and exercise. These choices strongly affect health. Understanding and addressing these factors allows healthcare professionals to customise interventions for a healthier life.
• Communication with healthcare providers: Share relevant family and personal medical history with healthcare professionals without hiding any facts. It will help in preventive care and early detection.

  

• Utilise digital health platforms for easy tracking and managing your personal and family medical history. Store electronic copies securely in cloud storage, ensuring accessibility from anywhere.

  

• Emergency information: Keep all medical records in one accessible place along with emergency contact details, doctor information, current medications, organ donor authorisation, and health insurance information.

  

Understanding and managing your personal and family medical history not only supports your health but also serves. purposes like research, insurance verification, addressing complaints, seeking reimbursement, and supporting legal claims if necessary.