Today at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Chicago the Health and Human Services (HHS) office, in collaboration with 5AM Solutions, is demonstrating a new web-based tool, “My Family Health Portrait” (https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/), that provides a secure first step for patients to use an electronic health record. This new tool, first released by the Office of the Surgeon General in January, allows patients to track their family health histories, which can be printed or shared electronically with the family members, doctors, and electronic health records (EHRs) that they choose.

With the inclusion of funding for electronic health records in the government’s recent stimulus package, wonks and citizens alike are raising concerns about privacy issues, the volume of patient data generated by genetic and other testing, and basic technical questions about how health information can be shared among systems. This new tool leverages the public’s understanding of the value of family health history in assessing an individual’s risk for disease. It also uses standards to promote interoperability and facilitate the exchange of health information. Most importantly, it puts the power of privacy in the hands of the user, who can decide to save or share information only at his or her discretion, and under his or her control.

The software was developed by 5AM Solutions, a software company that works exclusively in the life science industry. The open source tool is freely available for use by both commercial and non-commercial entities, and includes numerous adopters, including the Government of Mexico. The system’s output file, based on an HL7 standard, already currently interoperates with several risk analysis and electronic health record tools.

At the HIMSS conference on Monday, 5:30 p.m. CDT, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for HIT will host a special session to demonstrate the tool, “My Family Health Portrait,” and a panel discussion to examine its role in interoperable electronic health records with some of the nation’s leading healthcare experts, including:

• Theresa Cullen, Assistant Surgeon General and CIO, Indian Health Service
• Gregory Downing, Director, Personalized Health Care project, HHS
• Kevin Hughes, Co-Director, Avon Breast Center, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Grant Wood, Senior IT Strategist, Clinical Genetics Institute, Intermountain Health Care

5AM’s architect of the open source solution, Leslie Power, will demonstrate the tool and answer technical questions on its adoption and use.

“My Family Health Portrait, which was developed in collaboration with several government and commercial stakeholders, provides patients with an easy-to-use electronic health record which puts the power of privacy in the patient’s hands to determine who receives the health information,” said Brent Gendleman, CEO and President of 5AM Solutions. “We are pleased to be a part of this program as well as HHS’ larger endeavor to create the tools that facilitate the exchange of health information and set new precedents in interoperable, standard-based electronic health tools.”

About the Session

“Meet and Greet” sponsored by the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT, Monday at 5:30 p.m., in Room W-191 at McCormick Place, Chicago. Contact fhh@hhs.gov for information. See http://www.himssconference.org for more information of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference

About the tool

The My Family Health Portrait Tool is available for use at https://familyhistory.hhs.gov. The open source project is available at https://gforge.nci.nih.gov/projects/fhh/.

About 5AM Solutions

5AM Solutions develops innovative software solutions for academic, government, commercial, and non-profit life sciences organizations. The company helps evolve the way biomedical researchers work and collaborate by using software to reveal new insights hidden in vast amounts of data, facilitate translational research, and solve workflow challenges. The company’s solutions can overcome IT-based roadblocks to discovery and accelerate progress toward the ultimate goal of better health and improved patient outcomes. http://www.5amsolutions.com/fhh/