Why should we keep track of our family’s medical history? Doing this has a multitude of benefits.

Not least, it can help identify any genetic or hereditary illnesses, and provide invaluable support to anyone in the family who could also be at risk of developing these conditions.

The key to this process? Creating a collaborative, interactive environment where family members can comfortably share their medical information with each other, and be actively involved in keeping the family’s collective medical records up-to-date.

Tip # 1: Ask Your Family to Complete a Health Questionnaire

The first step in the family health tracking process.

Finding out the nitty-gritty details of your family’s medical history. This can, of course, be quite a sensitive topic, and admittedly, it might not be a subject everyone wants to discuss face-to-face. The good news? You can remove the need for awkward conversations by providing your family with a family health history questionnaire to fill out at their convenience. But what sorts of questions should be included in this questionnaire?

First and foremost, identify your family member’s personal details. Next, ask about any health concerns – particularly in terms of specifying any hereditary or genetic conditions. It’s also important to arm your family members with the following advice: if unsure, don’t make it up. Instead, leave that particular question blank or fill it in with the words ‘unavailable’ or ‘unknown.’

Our tip for the most effective family health questionnaire? Follow this format to make sure you’ve left no part of your family’s medical history uncovered:

Section 1. Personal Details

Ask for personal details such as:

Age / Date / Place of Birth.
Gender and Sexuality.
Height and Weight.
Ethnicity / Race / Cultural Origins.

Section 2. Medical Conditions

Provide a tick-down list of medical conditions, including:

Mental Illnesses – such as anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, and other mood disorders.
Genetic Disorders – such as Down Syndrome, for example.
High Cholesterol or High Blood Pressure.
Diabetes (Type 1 or 2).
Cancers of various types.
Heart Disease.
Alzheimer’s or Dementia.
Obesity.
History of Strokes.
Blindness.
Deafness.
Birth Defects.
Pregnancies and/or Miscarriages.

Section 3. Surgeries, Immunizations, and Vaccinations

This section should leave room for family members to describe any recent or past surgeries or other invasive medical treatments. It should also allow them to list any immunizations or vaccinations they’ve had administered over the course of their lives.

Section 4. Allergies and Intolerances

This section is important, as intolerances and allergies can be hereditary.

If your family member is allergic or intolerant to a specific food or medication, for example, there is a chance you could be too. Encourage them to list any reactions they may have experienced in response to any of these allergies or intolerances.

Section 5. Medicine and Medications

Keeping tabs on your family’s medical prescriptions can help medical practitioners – such as doctors, and nurses who have completed studies like gerontology nurse practitioner programs online – to provide better, more effective medical treatment to you and your family.

Section 6. Social and Lifestyle Habits

Finally, your family’s lifestyle habits can also affect their state of health. Get them to list details such as:

Do they smoke?
How frequently do they drink alcohol, if at all?
Do they use recreational drugs?
Have there been any instances of substance abuse?

Tip # 2: Record Your Family’s Health Conditions in a Medical App

Using an app on your smartphone to record your family’s medical history can be the most effective way to capture these details, and refer back to them later.

Popular app FamGenix, for example, supports this process by allowing you and your family members to upload medical conditions digitally, and store them in the portal. Using AI, the app can also analyze this information to help identify your risk of developing similar conditions as other family members.

Tip # 3: Keep Family Medical History Records Up-to-date

Finally, encourage your family to be proactive in sharing and updating their medical information. You can do this by creating a shared ‘living’ document that anyone can have access to update at any time.

Keeping this document up to date is the best way to keep track of your family’s medical history, and also, be able to access this information whenever you need it.