The Family Health History Tree Web tool is an interactive, internet-based tool that makes it easy for you to record your family health history. The tool is easy to access on the web and simple to fill out. It assembles your information and makes family tree that you can save and send to others. It is private--it does not keep your information. It gives you a health history that you can share with family members or send to your health care practitioner.

Knowing your family's health history will help your health care professional determine your risk factors for certain diseases. You can then work with your health care professional to take actions to reduce that risk. It can help in early detection of conditions that are prevalent in the African American community. Knowledge is powerful in the prevention and treatment of certain health conditions.

It should only take about 15 to 20 minutes to build a basic family health history. Individuals with larger families will spend more time entering in their information. Then you have the option of sharing it with other family members, if you wish. They may help provide information you didn't know. And relatives can start with your information and create their own history. You will also probably want to provide your health history to your health care practitioner. You and your health care practitioner should review it together before making it part of your medical record.

The Generations Of Wellness family health history tool does NOT make your health information available to the government or to anyone else but you. It only provides the software for organizing your information. By accessing the tool on the web, you make use of that software. But the information you fill in is never available to anyone else, unless you decide to share it. After you fill in your information, it is available only to you for downloading into your own computer. After that, it's up to you whether you want to share the information with other family members or provide it to your health care practitioner.

Privacy is important, and no one should be forced to share personal health information if they don't wish to. But knowledge of family health histories may be spread over different family members, so sharing can help create the best product. Maybe the best way to encourage sharing is to help make it clear how this information can help health care practitioners provide better care and make more informed decisions.

Since the information is not aggregated you should take reasonable precautions when sending this information to relatives. You should encrypt the information before sending it via email. If you don't have access to encrypted email; it may be better to transfer the information on a CD or memory stick; either in person or by regular mail.

Very few people are likely to have detailed and precise information about their family members/ health histories. But any information can be helpful. Once you have completed your history, it is important to talk about it with your health care practitioner. He or she may be able to help provide perspective, or even provide more detail based on the knowledge you bring.

No. The tool helps gather information that will be useful for you and your health care practitioner, but it does not provide medical advice. You should consult with a health professional about advice based on your specific situation.