Family health history is an underutilized tool in healthcare and could play a central role in enhancing the uptake and effectiveness of preventive services and early detection for a variety of disorders of major public health importance. This presentation will outline the value of family history in healthcare; describe and demonstrate the newly-developed U.S. Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait tool; relate a study that characterized the experiences of a group of primary care physicians who use the electronic medical record to enter family health history information; and engage participants in discussion of use of the tool specifically and family health history in general with providers and patients.

Presenters:
Mary Beth Bigley — Acting Director, Office of Science and Communications, Office of the U.S. Surgeon General
W. Gregory Feero — Chief, Genomic Healthcare Branch, NHGRI/NIH
Chris Lamer — Commissioned Officer, United States Public Health Service
Janet Williams — Certified Genetic Counselor, Intermountain Healthcare