At the Examiner.com, Sharon Ufberg criticizes J. Craig Venter for his "very lackadaisical attitude about family history." In a San Francisco Chronicle article from June, when asked about learning about health from your genome versus your family history, Venter said, "Knowing what your parents have gives you hints of things, but your genome is a totally unique combination of and interchange of DNA from your parents." Ufberg says that family history is an "invaluable" tool for assessing disease risk and she points out that Venter takes statins as a result of a family history of heart disease.
The National Institutes of Health recently issued a draft consensus statement, called "Family History and Improving Health," in which a panel recognized the importance of family history in the practice of medicine and as a patient motivator, but also said it was unsure how to gather that information effectively for use in primary care practices.