I think so.
Q—Do you have a gun in the home?
A1—”No” (Actually, there’s a dozen)
A2—”...Next question?”
Most doctors aren’t going to get into this type of questioning. They’ve got less than three minutes that they want to deal with you, and just move on. The guy who gets into this line of questions...you should just give long pauses and ask what he means....eating up time. If you can get this guy to spend twenty-five minutes focused on the gun business, rather than the pains you are suffering...you will eventually drive the guy out of business. Trust me...they need to hustle through twelve patients an hour...to make a real profit. Anything less than six patients an hour....they are losing money.
You should have your responses already thought up...drag out the interview. Act curious. Ask if antique guns are different from regular guns. Ask if shotguns are better choices than rifles. Try to make him take the position of an expert on rifles...rather than an expert on medicine. Most of these guys who get into the questions....will be fairly naive about how you drag them through a long-winded experience...about nothing.
Although talked about for a number of years, I first encountered the question when asked to update my medical history, on a doctor visit late 2012. I refused to answer any of the questions upon reading “are there guns in the home” as one of five pages of intrusive questions, for both men and women.
I asked the Doctor where these questions came from and his comment was “homeland security”. Ultimately I see where this might be headed, if not headed off at the pass. No history no medical treatment.
I fired my doctor over this issue 2 years ago during a Medical Certificate exam. Told him None of your F**king business and walked out. The next day I got my medical from a Navy Vet Doctor.
They typically ask the same questions, asked by the nurse, ever time the kids get their annual physical exams.
In addition to questions about nutrition, school performance, sleep habits, any concerns, etc. they always inquire whether a car seat is used, whether we own a trampoline, whether we have pets, use helmets when biking, and in recent years, whether there are guns in the house.
"Any firearms in the house?"
"A gazillion."
"Are they kept securely locked up?"
"You betcha."
I expect that all of these questions are part of what the American Academy of Pediatrics has identified as good practice when conducting office exams. None of the questions bother me and I want my kids to trust and disclose any concerns with their doctors. But, the whole electronic medical record thingy causes me pause.
First rule of gun ownership, from my point of view, is not advertising the fact that we have guns. I don't have 'Protected by S&W' decals on my door and figure the fewer people who know about our guns the better.
I trust our physicians, but I'm skeptical about the security of any sensitive info that could be harvested from the medical record.
I’ll repeat (again) what I’ve said in the past:
If asked by a doctor whether you have guns, you need to give A POLITE NO as your answer. Anything else gets you on another list, that, very easily, can be turned over to the government. (of course your kids have to be trained to say the same)
I also mentioned that the people they are looking for are not the typical mainstream gun owners, the ones that have already had background checks and buy their ammo with credit cards. No, they already have you in their databases.
They are looking, instead, for the people who are under the radar, the ones that buy their guns in untraceable private transactions and pay cash for guns and ammo. Those people are the ones more likely rise up, when the time comes, and they are hard to find. But, I suspect, they will often give themselves away to their doctors by saying something like NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS. Once they do that, then they are now in the database.
So guys, if you want to fight this, don’t try fighting it in the doctor’s office - since you lose by default - you need to fight it in state legislatures...or simply give A POLITE NO, when asked.
Do you have a gun in the home?
Me: Do you doc?
Doc: That is a dumb question you know we both take recoil therapy twice a month at the range.
NOT beside the point is that whatever is discussed between doctor and patient is CONFIDENTIAL--and has been since before the time of Hippocrites.
Just give gun safety warnings to every parent, without asking of the patient owns any. Problem solved.
Do you have a gun in your home?
When asked by a Doctor the only reply to this is
Sorry that is not relevant to the medical issue I am here to be seen for and am paying you for.
Dr.> Do you have any guns in your home?
Patient> Let me see your certification in firearms safety or instruction and proof that your malpractice insurance covers any injury or death resulting from your engaging in such activity.
Tangent to this is all the silly questions, are you exercising, how many drinks a week, do you smoke?
Jee you ask me every flippin time, if your computerized medical database that you are sharing with dear leader is so flippin good than why don't you have that info in front of you on the I-Pad you are holding which isn't HIPA compliant I might add...
So while you are busting our stones about our Cholesterol numbers, Moochelle, can quaf down 3000 calories at a sitting and eat all the Kobe' Beef she can grift?
I guess some Comrades are more Equal than others.....
Tangent to this is all the silly questions, are you exercising, how many drinks a week, do you smoke?
Jee you ask me every flippin time, if your computerized medical database that you are sharing with dear leader is so flippin good than why don't you have that info in front of you on the I-Pad you are holding which isn't HIPA compliant I might add...
So while you are busting our stones about our Cholesterol numbers, Moochelle, can quaf down 3000 calories at a sitting and eat all the Kobe' Beef she can grift?
I guess some Comrades are more Equal than others.....
“A debate is simmering over when and whether physicians should be allowed to talk to their patients about firearms.”
Nobody should be in the position to tell a physician what they can or cannot talk with a patient about. That is between the doctor and the patient. I can see instances where it may be appropriate for a MD to ask a patient about any guns they have, especially if the doctor suspects some type of mental stress or disorder. But the government has no say so in what a doctor and a patient discuss.