(AP Photo/The Cincinnati Enquirer, Carrie Cochran)
I received the following from a colleague, who, due to the personal nature of medical information, wishes to remain anonymous:
My wife came home from her OBGYN tonight and showed me a health form they provided her for her visit. I've attached the form and blocked out her personal information. If you look at the last line of the "personal care instructions" you'll see that they recommend she keep all guns unloaded and locked in a cabinet. This struck me as odd because I can't figure out what this has to do with OBGYN health?
They offer other suggestions like wearing a seat belt and using appropriate sunblock but how did they select such comments? Surely there are other things more dangerous to womens' health, right? They don't mention the use of condoms or abstinence to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. What about drinking and driving or smoking cigarettes? How about drinking alcohol during a pregnancy? We are talking about the OBGYN aren't we?
As an NRA life member I am bothered that this form contains such language and with the new Health Care Bill rammed down our throat I fear will we see a gun grab attempt under the guise of "health care". I don't have a problem in promoting safe storage practices but a gun for home defense needs to be loaded and easily accessible in my opinion. Children in the home obviously add a safety dynamic but there are many ways to keep a loaded gun accessible and keep children from gaining unsupervised access as you well know. In any event, these issues have no place on a medical form.
Here's the form in question, with personal information erased and the relevant section highlighted—click on it to enlarge:
My correspondent is exactly right when he says this is inappropriate. Physicians, and notably pediatricians, have been dispensing gun advice for years, despite the fact that selective bias on the part of the American Medical Association when it comes to firearms has been well documented.
In "The AMA, Firearms, and Intellectual Dishonesty," by Robert J. Woolley, M.D. (published 11 years ago, so it's not like this is new information), we find an interesting observation about the AMA "bible" on the subject, the "Physician Firearm Safety Guide":
Further evidence of the authors one-sided intentions comes from mention of funding from the Joyce Foundation, which is well know for supporting anti-gun causes.
Indeed. One might even consider the Joyce fixation against your being armed rabid and fanatical.
The "Safety Guide" is a tool for promoting an agenda, and a useful one, because it carries the weight of perceived medical authority, to which many simply defer without question. Being a peer, Woolley doesn't have to, and he demonstrates how the "defensive value of guns" is "glaringly omitted" from the tract, that their "deterrent value is ignored," that some households have higher risks than most, that claims are carefully worded to produce a desired reaction, that evidence is inconsistently evaluated, and that the whole damned effort smacks of a legislative, rather than a medical agenda.
But without knowing that, it's not surprising a doctor and staff are going to follow suit and present "company" forms without question.
Which brings to us an opportunity to educate them, or at least make them—and their risk management departments—think twice about whether or not they really want to go on record prescribing gun safety advice without being able to document their personal qualifications and credentials for doing so. Let's plan on looking at that tomorrow.
Comments
I have a safety tip for Kaiser Permanente:
In order to avoid an unplanned trip to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, it would be wise to keep your long nose out of other peoples’ private business!
[W-III]
I can see KP being sued for Constitutional Torts for sticking their nose in the "rights" of patients. Be very careful KP.
The Second Amendment Sisters (www.2asisters.org) has a handy "Qualifications and Liability Statement" that you can present to your doctor. Useful for pointing out the risk they are taking.
I suppose "gun safety" is as important as "fire extinguisher safety" as in the suggestion just above it on the document. I would question this doctor's ethics in re my health. My doctor has never given me a list like this. I would reply that if someone were breaking into my house, I'd have to tell them to wait a minute while I retrieve and load my gun.
Hmm. Odd that they don't mention swimming pools or tubs, both of which "kill" more children than guns. I wonder why.
This is called a "boundary violation." To handle it effectively, go here:
www.dsgl.org/BVD.htm
If you are a Kaiser "member" (customer), I would suggest that you write to them and express your opinion.
It's simple, when they send one of the "agents" to snoop on their patients they don't want them shot. Pretty clear to me who they are protecting :-))
What "Henry Bowman" said. The advice in the handout is a boundary violation and opens Kaiser up for lawsuits if following the advice causes harm to the patient. In fact, I'll wager that Kaiser doesn't know this is being disseminated in their name.
I have a safety tip for consumers: Don't choose Kaiser Permanente for your family's health care.
I think you are over reacting. It is boilerplate and decades old in other forms.
25 years ago when I had to see a doctor for the first time I was asked if I owned firearms, if I smoked, drank, did drugs, etc. I found the question odd and said none of your business. It was not health related. That has happened in person or on paper probably 10 times since then. I never answered and was never harassed.
parabarbarian says: I'll wager that Kaiser doesn't know this is being disseminated in their name.
Its NOT from the doctor. Its IS from Kaiser. Most of it is good advice. It probably gets spit out of the computer according to the age of the patient. All but the gun idiocy.
I was in a doctor's office a few years ago, and in the restroom was an anti-gun propaganda poster. So, I made my own notations to correct the lies.
As a medical provider for the last 26 years I have never asked this question. I have also counseled my students that this is an area that is none of their concern. Offering full disclosure, I did become an NRA member and full 2A adherent over the years......a thinking man can see the error of his ways if he's honest.
On return visit.
“Doc, noticed on the handout under preventative measures a recommendation that any firearms in a person's home should be stored unloaded in a locked cabinet. Might want to tell whoever’s in charge that they left off the part about except those firearms used for self defense. First reason being a firearm unloaded and locked in a cabinet is virtually useless. The general rule for defensive use of a firearm in the home is retrievable in no more than 5 seconds. Another reason being if a person follows this bad advice and gets injured by a criminal, and it comes to light that they followed the advice of their caregivers, a real sharp lawyer could file a suit claiming that the injuries resulted from following this advice. Might not win, but most of ’em are looking for quick out-of-court settlements anyway. Third reason being if a criminal kills one of your patients, the patient loses their life and you lose a patient.
BTW, do you carry a gun? If not, why not?"
Odd, no mention made at all of the fact that mistakes by health care professionals kill an estimated 100,000 people a year. The one step any patient can take to protect themselves is to question every medical decision and understand to the best of their ability the rationale behind each one.
All doctors are asking this now, I have taken to responding with- it is none of your business either way, since it is not a true health risk like say fast food or driving and they do not ask anything about that I gracefully refuse!
Welcome to the NEW ORDER...forget registration and forget HIPPA sanctity Der Fuhrer Bushie passed the Patriot Act (so HIPPA doesnt work regarding the gubberment now) and with the new HealthCare legislation they will not need to register anything...after all it handles the rest! (Read all of it- it will take forever and you will be effectively sickened and want to move.)
Well, looking at most statistics, it is actually 2-4 times more likely that you are involved in violent crime, rather than a house fire. Following this logic, they should ask, if you have a fire-extinguisher handy as much as a hand gun. :-)
If guns are bad, then why did they save the lives of all of these people?
ccwsaveslives.blogspot.com/
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