Health officials promote initiative on family medical history

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON - Top U.S. health officials asked families on Monday to use their Thanksgiving gatherings to discuss and record the medical histories of their parents, grandparents and other kin.

Health researchers have known for years that family medical history is a strong indicator for many chronic diseases, including diabetes, stroke, obesity, cancer and heart disease. "In fact, family history is the most consistent risk factor for almost all human diseases across (one's) life span," said Muin Khoury, the director of the Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
..............
Some privacy advocates fear that employers or health insurers would use the information to discriminate against patients with medical histories that suggest costly treatment in the future.

Under HHS rules, caregivers can share patients' information - without their consent - for routine purposes of treatment, payment and other health-care operations. Patients must be given forms explaining these privacy rights when they visit doctors or hospitals.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/10130836.htm

[DELUSIONAL]

1. There are too many ethical issues with untrained people

collecting this information and then turning it over to an HMO or some other semi-Government agency.

Although I collect this information as part of my genealogy research -- I would never just turn it over to "medical health professionals".

[dflprincess]

2. And wouldn't that make for a cheerful Thanksgiving dinner

sitting at the table, eating more than you should, and discussing the family illnesses. I can see the kids rolling their eyes now.

[BernieBear]

3. I'm rolling my eyes now and I'm no kid n/t

[LisaL]

4. Remember my words-soon we all will be chipped.

They will scan us and know everything about us.
}(

[LeftyMom]

5. On second thought, let's NOT encourage my mother.

I already hear enough about her latest diagnosis or the new surgery that's going to have her all fixed up. If she thinks she ought to tell about every bizarre illness one of our relatives has ever faced I will die of boredom and someone will have to scrape congealing lentil loaf and gravy off my corpse.

Let's use the day to talk about what we're doing to be healthier than our ancestors instead. I'll start: I do not drink vodka for breakfast.

[Occulus]

6. I was adopted in the 1970s

I am incapable of providing this information.

How does this affect me adversely? Specifics, please. I want to be aware.

edit: if you don't have sex outside of marriage, you don't have a child out of wedlock; are they simply denying the existence of adopted children whose biological parents are unknown here? Do they not know we exist, or do they not care?

As an adopted child, I can say: no biological parent giving their child up for adoption has any right to keep their name and location secret from that child.

No right to that form of "privacy". None. For medical reasons.

Period. Sorry. On this I won't bend. I have a right to know where I came from.