Doctor Interrogation warning!

[CnC]

Sun Tzu has some good advice for situations like this.

 

[Docster]

You can't report someone for doing something they are "supposed" to be doing. Doctors by and large are a private business. We talk a lot about freedoms. This becomes a 1A issue. They can ask what they feel is relevant. We may not like it or agree with it, but we can't suppress speech we do not agree with. Take your business elsewhere or just answer "no". With all the new regulations, taking your business elsewhere is not likely going to be an easy option for the future. If I need to document particular answers to get paid, I am going to play that game. How you answer is your business.

That's what some of us said back on page 1 or 2.......
Answer such as 'it's irrelevant', ' I prefer not to answers these questions' are appropriate.

 

[Oldcarjunkie]

We had to rush my son to the hosp over the weekend and they asked my wife if we had guns in the home. Before I could give her the eye she said.. Yes, they are locked up. I told her f asked that again the answer is no.

 

[dbledoc]

FYI I work for Medstar. We are not mandated by Medstar to ask these questions.

 

[mac1_131]

Well my doc is Medstar Physician Partners also. Pretty sure their EMR system contains those as canned questions. Are you MPP primary care or maybe a specialist who doesn't use that script.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[sgt23preston]

It's one thing if our Doctors are concerned about the safety & security of guns in homes with children & grandchildren...

I wouldn't be offended if my Doc handed me a gun safety handout...

And there are probably some gun owners that would benefit by reading one...

The issue is who's ultimately asking these questions & will they have access to my answers..?

 

[platoonDaddy]

FYI I work for Medstar. We are not mandated by Medstar to ask these questions.

AMEN, it is the DR's agenda, not Medstar.

 

[teratos]

FYI I work for Medstar. We are not mandated by Medstar to ask these questions.

Well my doc is Medstar Physician Partners also. Pretty sure their EMR system contains those as canned questions. Are you MPP primary care or maybe a specialist who doesn't use that script.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

AMEN, it is the DR's agenda, not Medstar.

I would bet this is canned stuff in the EMR. Also, if you look at the templates put out by the AMA, American Acadaemy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, you will find that they all have the gun question. Most people just blindly download them. In the vast majority of cases, it is probably people just asking what is there. No doubt there are some docs with the agenda, but they are few and far between.

 

[platoonDaddy]

Old article, but example of physicians asking about firearms:

Physicians say that asking whether there are guns in the home and how they're stored should be part of routine discussions doctors have about hazards in the home, just as they ask about poisonous cleaning materials or fencing around outdoor pools.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/features/insuring-your-health/2012/112712-michelle-andrews-on-gun-ownership.aspx


************

So when a Florida law that prohibited them from discussing gun ownership with patients passed last year, they moved to fight it. A federal judge i blocking enforcement of the law in July.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/11/27/165985266/taking-aim-at-restrictions-on-medical-questions-about-gun-ownership

 

[MJD438]

Funny thing - I checked with the wife; neither of us have ever been asked any questions about smoke detectors or household cleaning supplies/poisons by our PCP nor by our children's pediatricians. Our pediatricians have asked the firearms question, but that was done before any of them were actually purchased, so the wife could honestly answer "no".

When I decided to start a PCP/Patient relationship again, I consciously decided to go to one I know supports 2A-protected activities.

 

[Bolts Rock]

Exactly.

I can count to potato.

I do give the benefit of the doubt to a certain point and give answers to useful questions but I don't answer some questions. I also take a red pen to line out things I do not agree to on forms. Yep, I am a PITA patient on some things like full discussion of all options and if I don't know the drug prescribed I will ask for the PDR to read the side effects and will often ask for something different if I don't like what I see. Sometimes I'll refuse a drug based on active ingredients because at 54 I do know that some things just don't work well for me or I just don't like them (Naproxen sodium, hydrocodone, pseudoephedrine come to mind).

 

[teratos]

Old article, but example of physicians asking about firearms:

Physicians say that asking whether there are guns in the home and how they're stored should be part of routine discussions doctors have about hazards in the home, just as they ask about poisonous cleaning materials or fencing around outdoor pools.

http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/fea...112712-michelle-andrews-on-gun-ownership.aspx


************

So when a Florida law that prohibited them from discussing gun ownership with patients passed last year, they moved to fight it. A federal judge i blocking enforcement of the law in July.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/201...ions-on-medical-questions-about-gun-ownership

Be careful of the wording. They say "Physicians say that asking whether there are guns in the home and how they're stored should be part of routine discussions" , but then point to the American Academy of Pediatrics as a source. AAP tends to have very liberal views. I bet those views are not shared by a majority of pediatricians. As for the questions, most doctors just don't think much beyond "this is what is recommended, this is what I will do". I bet most docs would not be up in arms if that question were removed.

 

[rummy]

It's one thing if our Doctors are concerned about the safety & security of guns in homes with children & grandchildren...

I wouldn't be offended if my Doc handed me a gun safety handout...

And there are probably some gun owners that would benefit by reading one...

The issue is who's ultimately asking these questions & will they have access to my answers..?

They would get a succinct "no sir" if they ask me...no need to stir the pot.

That being said, how would you feel if your dentist quizzed you on how safely you operate your new chainsaw or your gardener tried to give you financial planning pamphlets?

It would seem that they are operating out of the scope of their profession and have nothing to offer me beyond specific, solicited medical advice.

 

[CypherPunk]

Maybe we need a public database that lists doctors who are more concerned about a liberal agenda than being a patient advocate and practicing evidence based medicine?

Maybe we need to publicly shame those physicians and practices whose focus appears to be documenting firearms ownership in the EMR, CRISP or Affordable Care Act databases?

 

[dbledoc]

Well my doc is Medstar Physician Partners also. Pretty sure their EMR system contains those as canned questions. Are you MPP primary care or maybe a specialist who doesn't use that script.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

Most EMR's, we use Centricity, have canned places for firearms. However, it is not Medstar's policy to force docs to ask these questions.

The "firearm" question is encouraged by certain medical societies. When I was teaching at Hopkins, the students were being taught to ask those questions in their basic history and physical exam class. The traditional argument is not ownership, it is are the guns kept safe from the kids... The liberals have twisted it into an ownership issue. My fear today is once it gets into the EMR it never goes away. Originally EMR's were set up to improve record keeping and minimize errors. That didn't work out so well. I have seen men come in who have ovarian cancer and hysterectomies in their records, and women who have prostate and testicular cancers in their records. The push for EMRs is because it is government mandated and tied to fines and reimbursement. The new government push is to have all EMR's talk to each other. Which really bothers me. So, I only dictate/type what is medically needed for the care of my patients.

Personally, I do talk to my patients about firearms, but as a common hobby. I don't ask. It just comes up. As an orthopaedic surgeon I don't need to know. I certainly don't put it in my records.

 

[HeatSeeker]

Wow! I wish my Dr. would have at least asked me some of those questions.... he just went straight to sticking his finger up my ass.


All kidding aside, should this maybe be reported to someone? I believe in being open and honest with my Doc, but those questions sound more like they were coming from an insurance agent not a Doctor.

 

[teratos]

All kidding aside, should this maybe be reported to someone?

Who will you report it to? If we are talking Rights, we should be concerned that the government would restrict the free speech of a private business person in the confines of his or her own place of business. While the government should not require doctors to ask such questions, the government should not restrict that Right, either. If you like the Constitution, you need to respect it in it's entirety.

 

[LongTom]

Who will you report it to? If we are talking Rights, we should be concerned that the government would restrict the free speech of a private business person in the confines of his or her own place of business. While the government should not require doctors to ask such questions, the government should not restrict that Right, either. If you like the Constitution, you need to respect it in it's entirety.

I couldn't have said it better, myself. Free economy is equally important, too, and I'm already taking steps to ensure that MedStar knows EXACTLY why they lost a paying customer, which is dollars in the pocket. They can chose to do what they wish with that information.

They're also going to know about this thread, and all the other people I've informed.

I wish more people were like this, and voted with their wallet. For example, it makes me sick hearing people complain about imported goods all day, when I know they shop at Wal-Mart every week like dumb sheep. I believe this is a critical piece of the puzzle many people overlook.

Businesses like that DO make campaign contributions. Think about THAT next time you shop somewhere. A part of your payment for that can of coffee will go into some democrats re-election fund.

 

[almiller1963]

If you like the Constitution, you need to respect it in it's entirety.

I agree with you totally here. You can't pick and chose your freedoms. You are either free or oppressed.

I'm thinking of recommending a new slogan for the state - Welcome to Maryland the home of oppression........

 

[SHOTTAS]

I can feel the OPPRESSION and it sucks!