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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>In addition to the safety issues addressed below,
what about the situations where one or more persons in a household may suffer
from serious mental health problems?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>w.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV id=entryhead><SPAN class=timestamp>Posted at 06:56 PM ET, 11/09/2011</SPAN>
<H1 class=entry-title>Should doctors be allowed to ask about guns in the
home?</H1>
<DIV class=blog-byline>By <A
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/jennifer-larue-huget/2011/03/03/ABJ6GIQ_page.html"
rel=author>Jennifer LaRue Huget</A></DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=entrytext>
<P>Should doctors be permitted to routinely ask about the presence of firearms
in their patients’ homes? </P>
<P>An article published Thursday morning in the American Journal of Preventive
Medicine argues that they should -- but that their right to do so is under
attack.</P>
<P>Eric W. Fleegler of Children’s Hospital Boston writes <A
href="http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=44993"
target=_blank>that a law passed in Florida</A> in June would have prohibited
doctors from routinely asking whether patients had firearms at home “unless
[such] information is relevant to patient’s medical care or safety or safety of
others.” The legislation highlights the potential for harassment, discrimination
and insurance repercussions when such information is made part of a patient’s
medical record. Though in September a U.S. District Court judge granted a
preliminary injunction blocking the law on the grounds that it violates
constitutional free speech protections, similar laws have been proposed (but not
ultimately passed) in six other states, according to the article. </P>
<P>Fleegler argues that asking about the presence of firearms during routine
visits allows pediatricians and other health-care providers to offer guidance as
to the safe storage and handling of guns with an eye toward protecting patients
from harm. </P>
<P>The argument was spurred, Fleegler reports, by a Florida mother’s refusal to
answer her child’s doctor’s questions about guns in the home, questions the
mother reportedly found “invasive” and “extremely personal.” The physician
reportedly instructed the mother to find a new pediatrician, noting that he
routinely asks about the presence of other potential hazards such as swimming
pools and tailors his guidance according to the response.</P>
<P>“Morbidity and mortality from fırearm injury represent a ubiquitous and
costly epidemic,” Fleegler and his co-authors conclude. “But if physicians are
not allowed to ask about fırearms as a health issue, then they cannot even
attempt to work toward prevention of injury. The only way to deal with a problem
is to talk about it, not to suffer in silence.”</P>
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<DIV><FONT size=2
face=Verdana>________________________________________</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Verdana>Wayne A. Fox<BR><A
href="mailto:wayne.a.fox@gmail.com">wayne.a.fox@gmail.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>