The medical history of a patient is a record of health information about a person and his or her close relatives. Patient Record history assimilates complete record which includes information from three generations of relatives, including children, and extended family.
Families have many factors in common which bring together their genes, environment, and lifestyle in which they have grown up since their birth. Together, these factors are vitally important as they give important clues to the medical conditions that may run in a family. Healthcare professionals can understand the future probability of a patient developing a particular health condition by noticing his/her health history.
Here is why maintaining a patient’s health records is important-
- A patient’s medical history can identify the chances of their probability of having lifestyle diseases like diabetes, heart attacks etc which are the main cause of serious health conditions.
- The patients’ health records and history also can provide information about the risk of rarer conditions
- It helps doctors and care giver’s to minutely assess and give the best of medical facilities to the patient.
- In addition, a patient’s medical history allows him/her to take steps to reduce his or her risk.
- A patient’s medical record helps healthcare providers arrange for regular check-ups and tests for people with medical conditions which runs in their family. Additionally, they provide valuable inputs to maintaining lifestyle changes such as adopting a getting regular exercise, quitting smoking, healthier diet help many people lower their chances of developing heart disease and other common illnesses
- In less serious situations, keeping a track of a patient’s medical health history saves valuable time searching for relevant facts like medications or allergies
