“Dr. Eric Fleegler, the study’s lead author and an emergency department pediatrician”
FORBES
Jan 22, 2013
Paul Hsieh, Contributor
Why Doctors Should Not Ask Their Patients About Guns
Should doctors ask patients if they own guns?
Currently, ObamaCare bans the federal government from using patient medical records to compile a list of gun owners. But following the Newtown, CT shootings, President Obama issued an executive order clarifying that “the Affordable Care Act [ObamaCare] does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.” The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) similarly encourages physicians to ask patients if they own firearms — in the name of protecting child safety. As a physician, I consider this advice misguided. Instead, physicians should not routinely ask patients whether they own guns, because it could compromise the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship.
First, the American Academy of Pediatrics is not politically neutral in the gun debate. The AAP supports standard Left positions, including “federal firearms legislation that bans assault weapon sales and the sales of high capacity magazines” and “the strongest possible regulations of handguns for civilian use.” The AAP also recommends that parents “NEVER have a gun in the home” (“NEVER” capitalized in their statement). Their website also cites the now-discredited 1986 claim that, “A gun kept in the home is 43 times more likely to kill someone known to the family than to kill someone in self-defense.”
My prediction is that in the years to come, somewhere under obozocare, people are going to be required to answer certain questions or be denied care or some other service.
I also predict that the answers will be required to be answered “truthfully” with a penalty attached for false answers.
I’m sure that there are some people who will scoff at this and say that it will never happen. I understand. But I’d ask them to look around at all the things that have happened that most of us thought would never happen. Kinda scary, huh?