Article: Packing Heat in Detroit Doctors asking patients about guns

[usmarine0352_2005]

This is how it starts. He visits his aunt 1 time a year, now the government wants to get involved in her private business. This man has tried suicide 9 times in 13 years, not to say what's really on his mind but I'd say it's really a cry for help otherwise he'd have accomplished it by now.


Now the actions of one are going to effect the Constitutional rights of another, someone that he sees only once a year.....?



We have a few suicides in our city every year. All the ones I've seen were people who jumped off of a bridge and one who hung herself. Although I know people who've seen 2 with guns.





http://www.npr.org/sections/health-...159/when-deciding-to-live-means-avoiding-guns

When Deciding To Live Means Avoiding Guns

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 5:04 AM ET

When you're managing a mental health issue, home's not always a safe place. I recently talked with a 23-year-old in Oakland, Calif., who says he's worried about an upcoming visit to his aunt's home on the East Coast. He's afraid of what he might do to himself there. "I know that in my aunt's house there are three guns in the basement," says the young man, who asked that NPR not use his name. He goes back to visit his family once a year, he explains, and usually stays with the aunt who owns the guns. Knowing where those weapons are stored is a particular problem for him, he tells me — he's tried to commit suicide nine times over the past 13 years. "Having tools for suicide completion ... makes it way more tempting to attempt or complete suicide," he says.

But what happens when you can't control the fact that there's a gun nearby? Some states, like Missouri and Florida, have laws forbidding doctors to ask patients about gun access and ownership. But that's not the case in California, where managed care provider Kaiser Permanente asks all teen patients about guns during their checkups, as part of its screening for potential health risks. To give us a better idea of how those conversations go, Dr. Lauren Hartman, who helped found Kaiser's East Bay teen clinic, ran through the typical interview — with Youth Radio's Kasey Saeturn playing the role of the patient:

That's a red flag for the doctor, and a signal she needs to intervene. Hartman: "So, Kasey, if it's OK with you, I would like to talk to your parents about how to keep the gun safely at home."

 

[MICHAEL T]

My now grown children always knew answer was . No guns in our home. Doctor or teacher has no right to ask those questions .

 

[CLP]

Actually, it's the standard of care for a psychiatrist to ask if a patient has access to firearms when evaluating their risk of suicide/homicide. It's a modifiable risk factor. If a psychiatrist doesn't ask that question and a patient kills shoots themselves, the shrink gets sued. You may not believe it, but it's not a grand conspiracy to disarm the public.

 

[basicblur]

Tom Gresham (and others) just discussed this the other day in his podcast.

The subject of boundary violations has often come up, but Tom said one of his firearm enthusiast doctor friends told him he was required to ask the questions in order to be paid by Medicare / Medicaid.

The doctor's suggestion?
When he asks, just lie to him - he's good with it!

 

[Robert]

This is nothing new. We have been talking about Dr.s asking patients about guns for years now. I work in law enforcement and go to the county employee clinic where they know what I do and they still ask me if I own or keep firearms in my home. I sit and stare quietly at them until they move on due to the uncomfortable, for them, silence.

 

[GAF]

I have never been asked that question by any doctor in or outside the VA.
If that becomes a standard question the standard answer will be no.

 

[natman]

Actually, it's the standard of care for a psychiatrist to ask if a patient has access to firearms when evaluating their risk of suicide/homicide. It's a modifiable risk factor. If a psychiatrist doesn't ask that question and a patient kills shoots themselves, the shrink gets sued. You may not believe it, but it's not a grand conspiracy to disarm the public.

There's a world of difference between what's appropriate to ask a patient who's a suicide risk and what's appropriate to ask everybody.

 

[MErl]

In the context of the article it is a reasonable question. Past suicide attempts makes firearm ownership (or even being around them) a valid topic as part of therapy. As a general question asked by a GP it could border on harassment.

 

[BSA1]

I recently talked with a 23-year-old in Oakland, Calif., who says he's worried about an upcoming visit to his aunt's home on the East Coast. He's afraid of what he might do to himself there. "I know that in my aunt's house there are three guns in the basement," says the young man, who asked that NPR not use his name. He goes back to visit his family once a year, he explains, and usually stays with the aunt who owns the guns.

This article makes little sense. Since he knows his Aunt has guns in her home and he is apparently unable to control his suicidal urges why doesn't simply stay with a different relative or in a motel?

This article is merely a attempt to blame the gun, not the person.

 

[rduchateau2954]

A guy who has "failed" to commit suicide 9 times tells media he is afraid of guns? Seems like this guy can't go very long without some sort of cry for attention.

Let's just hope he doesn't reproduce.