Clinical use of the Surgeon General's "my Family Health Portrait" (MFHP) tool: Opinions of future health care providers

Kailey M. Owens, Monica L. Marvin, Thomas D. Gelehrter, MacK T. Ruffin, Wendy R. Uhlmann

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examined medical students' and house officers' opinions about the Surgeon General's "My Family Health Portrait" (MFHP) tool. Participants used the tool and were surveyed about tool mechanics, potential clinical uses, and barriers. None of the 97 participants had previously used this tool. The average time to enter a family history was 15 min (range 3 to 45 min). Participants agreed or strongly agreed that the MFHP tool is understandable (98%), easy to use (93%), and suitable for general public use (84%). Sixty-seven percent would encourage their patients to use the tool; 39% would ensure staff assistance. Participants would use the tool to identify patients at increased risk for disease (86%), record family history in the medical chart (84%), recommend preventive health behaviors (80%), and refer to genetics services (72%). Concerns about use of the tool included patient access, information accuracy, technical challenges, and the need for physician education on interpreting family history information.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)510-525
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of Genetic Counseling
Volume20
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2011

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics(clinical)

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