Aspiration for Health

Effective community based genomic medicine relies upon the use of Family Medical History (FMHx) and when appropriate genetic testing to assess disease risk based on clinical evidence. Studies of primary care practices indicate that the FMHx is an underutilized tool in routine examinations and is often viewed as a pre-conception work up. Detailed family histories are often not obtained by primary health care providers because they lack the time and resources to extract clinically relevant information from them. Nevertheless, obtaining accurate family medical history is an essential step for assessing a patient's family-based risk for disease and implementing risk-reducing interventions that include basic human rights. The Office of the US Surgeon General deemed the benefits of the FMHx so important that they have created a national public health initiative to educate citizens regarding the need to learn all they can about their own family medical histories and it can be found on their website at http://www.hhs.gov/familyhistory/. The purpose of this session is to discuss family history based risk assessment and the importance of obtaining an accurate family history, especially in vulnerable populations. The aspiration of Genomic Medicine is to improve health with the premise that health is a human right.