Other states have tried to pass similar legislation before, but Florida was the only place where a bill was passed. Missouri, Montana, and Minnesota have laws that are centered around firearm data collection, but nothing that prohibits a physician from asking about firearm safety and gun ownership.
Many physicians, including yours truly, don't actually know that much about guns, which causes trust issues. We can still ask about safe gun storage, if guns are stored unloaded with the bullets being stored elsewhere, and whether children hang out at homes where firearms are easily accessible.We just have to approach these conversations from a place of mutual respect. Regardless of what you believe, many people own guns. It might be their expression of freedom or their rights.
Now, I want to hear from you, including healthcare professionals who are gun owners. Do you think we should be having these conversations with patients about firearm safety? Why or why not? Comment below. Alok S. Patel, MD, is a pediatric hospitalist, television producer, media contributor, and digital health enthusiast. He splits his time between New York City and San Francisco, as he is on faculty at Columbia University/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. He hosts
It like asking if chefs should stop talking about the supply chain issues that involve food. You can't ask a person to cook they food without caring about how it got there. Doctors and nurses are the ones that have to deal with the trauma that comes from dealing with all of it.
This is their lane
Yes, they should.
AlokPatelMD I think the author misses the point of people's reticence to talk to doctors about guns. Many people don't want it in a federally searchable database (i.e. EMR) that they have guns. Very few people mind a doctor reminding them to maintain gun safety IF they own a gun.
AlokPatelMD Don't like you put a gun in a med symbol