It might seem that information from your past would be less important, or perhaps even irrelevant, to your current condition. But medical history is one of the most important parts of your medical record—so important that a recent Newsweek article (November 14, 2010) declared that family health history would give you “a more accurate glimpse of your health future than a personal DNA scan.” That’s a good reason to make time to interview Grandpa Joe.

Your medical history is a complete longitudinal portrait of your health over time, ideally starting at birth, including illnesses, chronic conditions, and preferences. It also should include a component of family history, where the health conditions of your close relatives are detailed.

Here are some reasons why you should partner with your healthcare providers to give them accurate information about you and your family’s medical history:

Ensure continuity of care. If you transfer or receive a referral to a different healthcare provider or hospital, then your new providers will rely on your medical history in order to continue monitoring your health effectively. Your medical history will allow your new providers to pick up where your previous provider left off, without need to rely on memory from earlier treatment protocols.

Improve provider’s diagnostics. Without an up-to-date history, your physician might make a decision about your health that would not be in your best interest, given your particular circumstances, genetics, or previous reactions to various treatments. For example, with your medical history in hand, your doctor can more likely avoid prescribing a medication to you that would produce a negative effect rather than an improvement.

Provide clues to your health. Your family’s medical history is an extension of your personal medical history, because it contains valuable clues to help you and your providers understand your own unique health situation, genetics, and variables. By taking the time to gather complete records about your family’s medical history and share your findings with your doctor, you can:

Improve prevention. Since many health conditions are genetic, knowing what diseases may run in your family can help your doctor guide your care accordingly by taking steps to decrease risk. There may be actions you can take like modifying your diet or activity level, screenings you can get at an earlier age to monitor development of a possible condition, or medicines you can take to reduce your chance of developing a certain disease.

Make better decisions. Armed with family health information, you can make informed choices about pregnancy and family planning, based on knowing more likely outcomes related to genetics and potential for certain diseases to run in your family.

Feel more control. As with so many aspects of healthcare, knowledge is power. By knowing what conditions may be passed down through your family line, you can educate yourself and stay informed about the best ways to ensure your health, as well as the health of your family.

To help you gather the types of information from your family that will be most useful to your doctor in understanding your complete medical history, focus on gathering the following:

Family names: both married and maiden for female relatives

Age: current, or age at death

Relation: note full- or half-siblings, twins, adoptions

Ancestry: by country, ethnicity—some genetic conditions require specific tests for certain ethnic groups

Death: cause of death and if autopsy was performed

Illnesses: any illnesses, birth defects, mental retardation and the age that conditions occurred

Lifestyle: history of tobacco, alcohol, or drug use; obesity; occupation

For more help documenting your family’s health history, you can explore the following resources:

NIHSeniorHealth provides tools for documenting family health history. Visit Website >

MedlinePlus provides information about family history. Visit Website >

The American Medical Association provides an Adult Family History Form, as well as questionnaires for collecting medical information. Visit Website >