Providing a family's health history gives a physician information he or she needs in order to manage their medical care. Drawing a medical genogram helps create a big picture of genetic diseases or inherited conditions from generation to generation in a family. Documenting medical issues within a family provides an accurate family history that is easy to maintain over time. It may also make going to a new doctor less stressful when trying to remember the family health history.
Instructions
1. Gather documents from family members, including death certificates, birth certificates and marriage licenses. Get a copy of the family tree if it's available. Copies of public records can be found at county record offices where the birth, death or marriage took place.
2. Record medical information from family members in a notebook such as dates of birth and death, cause of death, age at time of death, sex, ethnicity, miscarriage, stillbirths and any diseases or medical conditions. Include factors such as a history of weight problems, exercise habits, diet and smoking habits for at least three generations, starting with the grandparents. Take a medical history on all family members dead and alive.
3. Create a medical genogram on an unlined sheet of paper large enough to put grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, siblings, spouses and children. Use a pen or pencil and colored pencils or markers to indicate different diseases and conditions. Make a key of the symbols and colors used in the genogram.
4. Place males to the left and females to the right. Males are symbolized by squares, females with circles. The index person has a set of double lines. Connect married couples with a solid line. A divorce has two lines in the middle and one line for a separation. Children are listed from left to right (oldest to youngest) below the parents with a solid line and adopted children with a dotted line.
5. Place an "x" inside the square or circle for deceased individuals. Make a note indicating cause and age of death. Put the age of family members still living inside the symbol and note the age of onset of disease, illness or accident. Other medical symbols include a square with a black circle in the middle to signify a carrier of a disease, a square divided into four parts to show the individual is affected, a square with a line down the middle signifying affected by hearsay and, if it has a question mark inside, it means possibly affected.
6. Color in a small part of the symbol for each individual who has a disease or condition. Use red in the upper left corner for heart disease, pink in the upper right corner for breast cancer and green in the bottom left corner for diabetes.
7. Make copies of the finished medical genogram for your doctor, family members who may want them and for your own records.
8. Discuss the genogram and the health history of your family with your doctor. He or she may suggest you and other members of your family schedule screening tests for certain diseases or preventative measures to lessen the risk of health issues such as heart disease or high blood pressure.
9. Update the genogram every two years with current information and add new family members. Make copies for your doctor and family.
Tags: family members, health history, medical genogram, your doctor, birth death, cause death, doctor family