Comment

Comment by David J Macfarlane IV on June 14, 2011 at 5:06pm

OK... I can see this is kind of a dumb law but you can't give me a reasonable situation in which a doctor would need to know if there are guns in the home unless he is treating a gun shot wound. Then it becomes relevant even under this law.

In other words I have been to doctors all my life and never been asked this question. I am not going to get up in arms about it unless you can show a good reason why a doctor should ask this of any patient as part of a preventative measure. Gun safety really just isn't a medical issue even though gun shots are a medical issue.

Comment by Barry Lee Phillips on June 12, 2011 at 1:59pm

You are probably right about proving identity in case of pain medication.  But that would seem to be more of an issue when you pick up a prescription and have to prove that you and the person named in the prescription are the same individual. 

I am currently dealing with a third party workers comp administrator that I found out has been flagged by the State of Florida in the past for untimely payment of claims.  It is going to be interesting to see how they handle mine.  So far so good, but my doctor recommended an MRI.  Insurance companies, workers comp carriers included, hate the thought of paying for an MRI.

By the way, I have been involved in the construction of facilities for an MRI.  I found out during the project that you do not want to be in the MRI room during a "quench".  That is when a malfunction occurs and the liquid helium that cools the superconductive magnet escapes confinement, turns to gas and floods the room.  You will be asphyxiated, because the helium gas will displace all the air in the room.  Apparently this is a rare event.

Ah the wonders of modern medical technology!  If it doesn't cure you, then it may kill you.

Comment by amanda choate on June 12, 2011 at 12:57pm

I suspect they want it in case they have to prescribe pain killing medication, because in that instance it is required theat you prove your identity. Or if a third party is paying they have to prove that it is was you they treated. Those pesky insurers, always looking for a reason not to pay.

This is a stupid law, that says to a doctor, we are telling you how to practice medicine, because we know better than you. I want my doctor to feel free to talk to me about anything, with no government intrusion. The only thing I want the government to do is ensure that he is capable of practicing medicine, follows best practices, is insurable. After that it is none of their business what we discuss.

Comment by Barry Lee Phillips on June 12, 2011 at 9:43am

Amanda,

Everytime I go into any doctor's office I am asked to fill out forms that ask for personal information that may or may not be related to the practice of medicine.  For example, last week I was asked for my driver's license number on a medical form.  I refused to provide that information because it was not relevant to providing medical care.  I suspect they wanted that information for debt collection in case I didn't pay the bill.

This kind of thing is a privacy issue.  Our allegedly private information is seen by people we don't know and probably will never meet.  Who is to say the information that we provide won't end up in the hands of someone who would sell it to a crook who specializes in identity theft?

Not only that, if someone tells a medical practitoner that they own a gun or, heaven forbid, have a concealed carry permit that might poison the doctor/patient relationship.  Of course, that would depend on the medical practitoner's point of view toward firearms.  If firearms ownership is provided to law enforcement by medical practitoners, then a patient could become a suspect, through no fault of their own, in a case of mistaken identity.

No thanks.  I support this law.

 

 

Comment by amanda choate on June 9, 2011 at 9:23am

: Provides that licensed practitioner or facility may not record firearm ownership information in patient's medical record; provides exception; provides that unless information is relevant to patient's medical care or safety or safety of others, inquiries regarding firearm ownership or possession should not be made; provides exception for EMTS & paramedics; provides that patient may decline to provide information regarding ownership or possession of firearms; clarifies that physician's authority to choose patients is not altered; prohibits discrimination by licensed practitioners or facilities based solely on patient's firearm ownership or possession; prohibits harassment of patient regarding firearm ownership during examination; prohibits denial of insurance coverage, increased premiums, or other discrimination by insurance companies issuing policies on basis of insured's or applicant's ownership, possession, or storage of firearms or ammunition; clarifies that insurer is not prohibited from considering value of firearms or ammunition in setting personal property premiums; provides for disciplinary action.

Comment by amanda choate on June 9, 2011 at 9:05am

There is no attempt by doctors to register guns. There is no attempt by doctors to ban guns. When my child is with his doctor, he is always asking my child questions and relaying advice and information directly to my child. I have never been offended or threatened by any question a doctor has asked my son. Never. Two reasons, one I am confident in my child rearing practices and could defend them to anyone. Second, my son is this doctor's patient not me, his first concern is with my child not my feelings. As it should be. Children hear all types of information, it is important that their doctor give them information that is unfiltered by governmental thought. You wouldn't want a law that required a doctor ask your child about guns in the home, so it goes both ways, no preemptive gag orders. This is not a second ammendment issue, no doctor can take a gun out of a home.

Comment by David J Macfarlane IV on June 8, 2011 at 6:44pm

Why do doctors need to ask about gun ownership? Is this a tactic that some liberal group is trying to use?

It was called a back door attempt to register weapons but the doctors would still be bound by confidentiality unless the patient told them they were planning on using the gun to commit a crime. How can doctors be used to register gun ownership?

Perhaps combined with Obamacare which intends to digitize all of our medical records.

Comment by Cord Byrd on June 8, 2011 at 5:40pm

Have you read the statute and the doctors' lawsuit?

Comment by amanda choate on June 8, 2011 at 5:38pm

The law prohibits pediatricians from talking to children about gun safety. Seems like the government getting between me and my doctor.