The new AncestryHealth DNA testing service promises actionable insights and coordination with health care providers. Here’s what on offer.
The following is part of an announcement from Ancestry regarding their new AncestryHealth® service. Disclaimer: Ancestry did not provide me with advance access to this service or its description, so I don’t yet have personal experience with it.
2021 Update: AncestryHealth now offers just one service, with next-generation sequencing technology. Learn more here.
AncestryHealth®: Actionable Health Insights for You and Your Family
“AncestryHealth is a long-term commitment to making a difference in preventive health through personalized and actionable insights. Through a highly supportive and guided experience, AncestryHealth services deliver actionable insights that can empower people to take proactive steps–in collaboration with their healthcare provider–to address potential health risks identified in their genes and family health history.
“AncestryHealth is launching with two new services. AncestryHealth Core™, a one-time, array-based service, and AncestryHealth Plus™, a membership service using next generation sequencing (NGS) technology, help people start on the path toward better health for themselves and their families.
“AncestryHealth services include:
- Physician-ordered tests that were developed and are performed by independent CLIA-certified laboratories
- Educational information, including access to genetic counseling resources
- Printable consumer and physician-ready reports that provide guidance for next steps an individual and their healthcare provider can take together
“Ancestry has partnered with PWNHealth, an independent network of board-certified physicians and genetic counselors, to offer these services, which are included in both AncestryHealth Core and AncestryHealth Plus….”
AncestryHealth Core and AncestryHealth Plus
“AncestryHealth delivers personalized insights so people can take action to better manage their health in collaboration with their healthcare provider.
- AncestryHealth Core is a first step on the journey of understanding how family heritage and genetics can impact health and wellness. It covers a set of curated, common ‘need to know’ health conditions and includes printable family health history and lab reports people can share with their healthcare provider. The physician-ordered laboratory test included in AncestryHealth Core uses genotyping array technology to detect genetic differences and deliver personalized reports related to health conditions such as heart disease, hereditary cancers, blood-related disorders, and risks for carrier status of health conditions, such as Tay-Sachs disease. Additionally, there are wellness reports on topics such as nutrition and metabolism. AncestryHealth Core is priced at $149 and includes AncestryDNA. Existing AncestryDNA customers can upgrade to AncestryHealth Core for $49.
- AncestryHealth Plus will use next generation sequencing (NGS) technology to deliver more comprehensive screening data, providing both greater coverage of DNA differences for each condition and more risk categories such as those related to potentially developing heart disease, cancers, and disorders related to blood, the nervous system and connective tissues. For new customers, AncestryHealth Plus with NGS technology has a $199 activation fee, which includes the first six months of membership with an additional $49 membership fee every six months. Existing AncestryDNA customers can upgrade to AncestryHealth Plus for an initial payment of $49. The ongoing membership will include quarterly screening updates, more educational resources and enhanced tools for family health history and healthcare provider collaboration.
Tracking Family Health History
“Both AncestryHealth services include simple, step-by-step guidance to help people track and record their family health history all in one place. Family health history information often holds important clues about an individual’s risk for disease and is an important foundation, along with genetic screening, to proactively identify and address potential health risks. Customers can download and share a printable version of their family health history, along with their test results, with their healthcare provider so they can have the information necessary to personalize their care and take proactive steps where clinically necessary.”
Learn more about AncestryDNA
Health insights is just one of the features that Ancestry offers. AncestryDNA also has a plethora of great genetic genealogy tools you can use to track down more information about your family history. Learn about the other features Ancestry offers and how you can make the most of them with our AncestryDNA Tour. The AncestryDNA Tour includes over 90 minutes of video instruction divided into 16 different segments, and comes with a printable, interactive workbook, so you can apply what you learn to your very own tree. With the Tour, you’ll be an AncestryDNA pro in no time!
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