The Inner Reach HiGS as a Legacy
Out History Gathering Solutions HIGS

HiGS Histories Legacy Factor
A legacy is money or property that is bequeathed to another by a will or something which is handed down from an ancestor from the past. Akin to our culture and heritage, disease can be inherited and passed down through genetics and familial traits. Like a status acquired through birth, knowing these traits and genetic risks can help us prevent or stall disease and stay healthier longer. Health Histories help us do that. When we know the stories of family members who came before us, we can better protect our own health. HiGS Histories have this protective Legacy Factor!

What is a genogram? A genogram is a diagram which outlines the history of a family's behavior patterns over several generations in areas such as marriage, divorce, alcohol consumption, miscarriages, or suicide. It can be a diagram that details the medical and health history of an individual, and his or her family, which is created in order to assess the individual's risk of developing disease. Genograms are health histories we can develope like a 'family tree'. HiGS does this; it collects personal and family health history information for you to have, share, and control…and pass down.

Dr. Fitzpatrick, the CEO and health director at Inner Reach describes HiGS as, "Like an inheritance, as valuable as Grandma’s wealth, priceless recipes, and training; or Grandpa's stocks and bonds and his life's teachings, HiGS gathered information can be utilized and passed down through family members. This generational passing down of health information, gathered in HiGS, insures more comprehensive care for prevention and early detection with sound interventions when illness strikes."

"Captured personal relevant information can help understanding by providing clues and discoveries that enable changes for a longer health span and life. Gained self-knowledge, and having this information readily available, provides individuals with a means for staying healthy, knowing baselines, and getting better diagnoses and customized care when needing it while keeping costs down. When shared, gathered information by HiGS facilitates time-sensitive communication between the HiGS health customer and doctor toward increasing the likelihood of the highest quality of care possible and an effective quality process." Dr. Constance Y. Fitzpatrick

HiGS has cultural components built into its technology throughout the HiGS Histories, Assessments, and Library. It includes other medical approaches in addition to Western medicine ways such as Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Factored-in are cultural considerations since our genetics, where we were born, where we have lived, and all those who have influenced our lives bring strong inclinations. These tendencies tilt our lifestyles, interests, habits, belief systems, traditions, foods, and more. Environmental, nutritional, and occupational areas are also big in the HiGS. Every one of these factors impacts health.

Knowing about our culture helps us know many things about our health. Some cultures (such as Spanish ones) lean toward waiting until something happens before any steps are taken; whereas other cultures (such as Japanese and European ones) use preventive measures to help insure nothing goes wrong. Food is an important theme among humans as we socialize and celebrate together. Food habits as well as genetics play a big role in our health. For instance, American Indians possess what is called a thrifty genotype. This thrifty genotype enabled their ancestors to store extra fat to survive during the winter and periods of drought and bad harvest. One of the reasons today’s Native American populations have greater obesity and type II diabetes, than any other American group, is due in part to their cultural dietary habits, but also to their thrifty genotype. Although food is readily available today, their genetics still triggers their storing of extra fat, making it much harder for this cultural group to keep off extra weight. They have to work all the harder to keep a healthy weight to avoid becoming diabetic. Preventive health measures and services begin with knowledge of our culture and histories. HiGS was designed with all these factors in mind.

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