Forbes: "Why Doctors Should Not Ask Their Patients About Guns"

[SSN Vet]

great article... thanks for your efforts

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Good read and I told my kids Dr it was non of his business.

 

[dwstone1227]

PSH:
I want to thank you for taking the time and putting forth your sound argument. It takes courage to go public as you did and I applaud you for doing this. Your arguments are sound. Your logic is commendable.

For anyone reading this who thinks putting gun ownership into your medical record is "not going to hurt". I would like to point out one thing you may be forgetting. Once this information is in your medical record it will NEVER come out. Medical records are not destroyed. Your medical record will be here on this earth after you are dead and gone.

Dwstone1227

 

[VA27]

Well done! Thank you!

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I couldn't open the article but I should think the subject would be a non-starter given the potential for liabilities post event.

 

[-v-]

Excellent article. I'm in medical school and looking at our class, I am somewhat hard-pressed to see how we can be anti-gun as a whole. About 1/2-2/3 of our class (163 members) has a concealed carry permit. The leadership of the various professional colleges might be a different story, though. I think several other retired MDs on this board can vouch about how some/many professional colleges prefer at times to pursue their own agendas and not always represent the views of their members.

 

[DocCasualty]

The majority of MDs are either anti or for strict control

Hmm . . . I don't know about that. You might be correct, though my personal experience as a practicing physician for the last quarter century doesn't support that conclusion. Of course, I live in a rural, pro-gun area so my experience may not reflect the whole, though I do have many pro-gun colleagues and friends throughout the country too, I must admit that is anecdotal. I certainly am very aware of the anti-gun stance forwarded by many of my colleagues and the various professional and government organizations that purport to speak for me. The pseudo-science I've seen promulgated in this regard is deplorable.

That aside, I would like to compliment Dr. Hsieh on a well written article. I do not believe there is any routine reason to inquire about an individual's ownership of firearms. As far as risk reduction, it should be viewed no differently than any other potential life hazard as has already been described.

I routinely discuss firearms and pro-2A issues with anyone who is interested, whether they are patients, colleagues or from other areas of my life. I would encourage all of us to do that as knowledge is powerful and the only antidote for ignorance.

 

[sonick808]

Nice work indeed. The part about sowing the seeds of distrust is true. While my GP and I have a decades-long relationship, by the time I inevitably have to see a specialist about something or other as I age, I can already feel the seed of mistrust kicking in, wondering about my caretaker's position on guns, will he/she ask, and politics. I shouldn't have to feel that way. I shouldn't be checking whether my specialist was educated in Mass. vs.AZ, for example.