HHS launches online health history tool

HHS launches online health history tool

By Arlene Furlong — The government Jan. 13 announced an updated online health history tool designed to make it easier for consumers to assemble and share family health history information.

The surgeon general’s Internet-based, electronic health record-ready tool calls for a standardized core set of data elements necessary to attain a complete health history.

“The tool is built on health information technology standards that make it more convenient for consumers and more useful for practitioners,” said then U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt in announcing the tool. “It’s ready for use in electronic health records. And its software code will be openly available to other health organizations so they can customize and build on its standards base.”

The surgeon general’s My Family Health Portrait was originally launched in 2004, but that version was not standards-based.

Dr. Robert Faiella, chair of the ADA Electronic Health Record Workgroup, said that by improving this Internet-based family history tool, HHS has demonstrated a strong commitment to the use of technology in sharing important medical information and toward the development of an electronic health record.

“By using this mechanism for recording important health history information, HHS is moving toward fulfilling the National Health Information Infrastructure Initiative to empower health care consumers regarding their own personal health information for improved patient safety,” Dr. Faiella, who is also ADA 1st District Trustee, said. “By making the software code available to health care organizations, HHS hopes to improve the access to family health information by a variety of health care providers, including the dental office.”

Because it’s a free tool, patients will be able to download the form to their personal computers for their own recordkeeping purposes or to share with their health care providers. Health care providers will be able to host the form on their own Web sites to gather relevant health information from their patients.

“If the tool functions as intended, its ability to capture information electronically may help dentists supplement dental records with accurate information,” said Dr. Faiella.

HHS says completing the family history profile should take 15-20 minutes and that consumers should not have to fill out different health history forms for different practitioners. Personal information entered will not be kept by a government agency or other Web sites, so consumers will have complete control of how the information is used.

The new tool will serve as a platform for developing new risk assessment software to help in the screening and prevention of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other conditions, observed Steven Galson, M.D., acting surgeon general.

The HHS tool can be found online at http://hhs.gov/familyhistory/.