Family History
Family History records relatives and the diseases or conditions that run in the family. Use it for risk context and counseling. It is not the patient’s own Problem List and not Social History (employment/substance use).
What Family History Is For
Document family medical history as simple rows: who the relative is (relation) and what disease or condition they have/had. Example: Mother — Diabetes, Father — Hypertension. This helps clinicians assess hereditary risk. It does not store the patient’s own past medical or surgical problems.
Where and When to Use It
Open chart → Family History at new-patient intake, annual updates, or when counseling about risk. Some rooming/intake workflows may collect the same ideas separately—still keep the chart Family History current for ongoing care and face sheet context.
How the Screen Works
Header shows Family History with a member count and Add when allowed. Table columns: Disease, Relation, Actions. Search by disease or relation. Filter by relation (All Relations, Mother, Father, and so on). Long lists paginate.
Fields on Add / Edit
Relation to Patient (required): Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Daughter, Son, Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunt, Uncle, Cousin, Other. Disease (required): free text for the condition. Cancel closes; Submit or Update saves.
How to Add Family History
Click Add → choose Relation to Patient → type the Disease or condition → Submit. Add one row per relative–condition pair you need (you can add several rows for the same relation with different diseases).
How to Edit or Delete
Edit: pencil → change relation or disease → Update. Delete: trash → confirm Delete Family Member (the confirm text usually shows Relation - Disease). Needs Add / Edit / Delete Patient Member permissions plus the Family History tab.
Empty and Filtered States
No Family History means nothing recorded yet—use Add Family Member. No Matching Results means search/filter hid the rows—clear filters. Patient must be saved before this tab appears.
Common Issues
Tab missing: Family History permission or unsaved new patient. Entering the patient’s own hypertension here: use Problem List → Past Medical History. Entering smoking/alcohol: use Social History. Entering drug allergy for e-prescribe safety: use Allergy List.