Doctors Visit this AM

[actaeon277]

maybe I'm not following correctly... are you saying they should especially NOT ask someone if they have the means to kill themselves when they state their intention to do so, or are you saying they SHOULD ask in those situations?

Please tell me you just didn't just say, "the means to kill themselves".
How would those means be removed.
No living near a bridge, overpass, car, knife, swimming pool, chemicals, rope, height...........

 

[TTravis]

If they ask if you have a firearm at home, just say "Not right now it's not".

 

[glockednlocked]

I agree with Denny on this I will hire the best Dr. I can find and really care less about all the asides and personal opinions, but if they ask an off topic question I feel no duty to answer honestly.

 

[mistap]

Please tell me you just didn't just say, "the means to kill themselves".
How would those means be removed.
No living near a bridge, overpass, car, knife, swimming pool, chemicals, rope, height...........

Thanks for clarifying to the good Dr. for me while I was away. I owe you one

 

[Waveraider]

Too Late

I wasn't rude to her I just told her a BS income and that I didn't have any firearms. I will not put myself on the radar.

Sorry, but anyone who has posted on this site is no longer "flying under the radar".

Did I tell you about losing my guns in a boating accident?...

 

[jfryan]

Allow me to be more specific: My parent company has a rehire form that asks if the person has ever been convicted of a felony, and it askes me to rate thier appearance. Since I do not think it's relevant, I check no without ever having asked, and I refuse to rate appearance. When they say, "but the form has to be filled out completely." I say, "Okay." But I never comply.

I am not a mindless automaton that will do things that I do not believe in. YMMV

That's great for you.. Knock your socks off. It's nice that you call people that do their jobs properly 'mindless automation'. Obviously you don't work in the medical field. There's a different level of importance when people deal with medical records. They tend to frown on people making up their own answers.

Although based on your theory, if I felt it was wrong to ask what medications you're taking, and just write down nothing, and then the doctor writes you a prescription based on me putting nothing.. when you have a reaction to it, guess it's no big deal. Since you have no clue who I am or what I did in the medical field, it's rather presumptuous for you to insinuate I'm one of the 'mindless automation' group.

I was in a very specialized area & didn't have to ask those questions, and I personally have no problem questioning things I don't feel are right. As for the people I work with, and the general trend in medicine, is it's much more efficient for managers to hire 'yes' people that don't have a backbone & will never question what they are told. On the flip side of that, there is much more scrutiny by management over things such as this, and most people tend to prefer to remain employed.

There's a huge difference between you letting a felon work somewhere they shouldn't & medical personnel with an official chart.

I tried to explain it from the other side, but based on some of these replies, some people just don't give a crap & don't want to understand & still insist on blaming the person asking the question. We as staff don't make that stuff up. Guess you would yell at the cashier at Martins for the high price of prune juice..

If they ask you the question, you don't have to be an ass about it, just politely say, I'd rather not answer that. They aren't going to do anything differently, except note that you didn't answer.. I've seen dictation that has it listed, and far more that don't. Just like some people refuse to be weighed.. it's their choice, & our day continues along, and the sun continues to rise in the east & set in the west..

<turning the soap box over to someone else>

 

[BluePig]

How about pleading the 5th?
Refusing to answer a question that could incriminate you in the future seems a whole lot better than lying or giving an answer that could cost you in the future.
Is it just me or is the Constitution really that dead?

 

[Lex Concord]

I would tell them it's none of their f-ing business if I own any firearms or not.

How is ANY one of those questions any of their business?

# in household? Income.

they would get a go to hell I'm finding a new doctor from me.

BTW, I hope you were only there to get the doc's order for the sleep study, because that's the only way to truly know whether you have apnea and, if so, which type.

A good doc (with whom you have a relationship) would simply write the script for the study without making you pay for a visit. Just make a call and show up to pick it up.

Doctors aren't gods, people. They are service providers no different than a plumber, electrician, etc. Shop around and find one that fits you, there are good ones out there.

 

[mbills2223]

Geez, some really sensitive people here. I find the best doctors for me and my kids. It helps that my wife works for the IU School of Medicine so she knows which IU docs are the best in their fields. I could give 2 craps if they like guns or the 2A. If they ask about guns, I say NO and move on. It is none of their business so why become drama queens over it? They have yet to see my concealed carry piece.

I agree with Denny on this I will hire the best Dr. I can find and really care less about all the asides and personal opinions, but if they ask an off topic question I feel no duty to answer honestly.

It might not be an issue if the government wasn't so incredibly involved in healthcare, and becoming more so as each day passes. If you think the government isn't encouraging physicians to ask about and document firearm possession you are sadly mistaken. Remove government from healthcare, force the government to abide by and grant the privacy guaranteed by HIPPA, and then if the physician still wants to ask, your statements might make more sense.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Please tell me you just didn't just say, "the means to kill themselves".
How would those means be removed.
No living near a bridge, overpass, car, knife, swimming pool, chemicals, rope, height...........

I did, but you need to understand that we chart for the administrators, government, and the juries. If I have an actively suicidal patient and I don't document whether there's a gun in his possession, and he shoots himself after I discharge him, I'm screwed. If a patient tells me he is considering harming himself and owns guns, the only thing I do with that is tell the psychiatrist that he possesses the means to carry out his threat.

I realize people can jump off bridges, hang themselves, get out the butcher knife, etc.... but guns are different. There are to suicidal/homicidal patients, juries, and governments. They just are.

I know everyone likes to flame doctors for asking about guns in any situation, but there are some times it's appropriate to ask, and inappropriate not to ask.

To further the discussion: should we allow mentally ill people to purchase guns? If not, then why is it inappropriate to ask an actively suicidal patient if they possess one?

 

[actaeon277]

I don't think this thread was started for a suicidal person, or a mental exam.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I don't think this thread was started for a suicidal person, or a mental exam.

nope, sure wasn't, but it went there and someone said you should especially not ask about guns for those folks, and here we are.

 

[Lucas156]

How about "hell yeah I do how bout you.?

 

[cook4army]

Nurse: "current income level?"
Answer:" enough to pay for this visit and still eat tonight"
Nursewith scowl on her face)" Do you own any firearms?"
Answer: "Do you own any vibrators?"
Nursedumbfounded look)"......."
Answer: "Oh I thought you were asking me relevant questions to my current health condition"

Some things are just in a "Need to know" catagory, and my Doctor does not need to know if I own firearms because I am there for heartburn meds.

The latest executive orders were put in place, IMO, to circumvent HIPPA. They start putting questions like that on my inpatient forms, and depending on your answer, HIPPA is no longer applicable.

 

[mistap]

That's great for you.. Knock your socks off. It's nice that you call people that do their jobs properly 'mindless automation'. Obviously you don't work in the medical field. There's a different level of importance when people deal with medical records. They tend to frown on people making up their own answers.

Although based on your theory, if I felt it was wrong to ask what medications you're taking, and just write down nothing, and then the doctor writes you a prescription based on me putting nothing.. when you have a reaction to it, guess it's no big deal. Since you have no clue who I am or what I did in the medical field, it's rather presumptuous for you to insinuate I'm one of the 'mindless automation' group.

I was in a very specialized area & didn't have to ask those questions, and I personally have no problem questioning things I don't feel are right. As for the people I work with, and the general trend in medicine, is it's much more efficient for managers to hire 'yes' people that don't have a backbone & will never question what they are told. On the flip side of that, there is much more scrutiny by management over things such as this, and most people tend to prefer to remain employed.

There's a huge difference between you letting a felon work somewhere they shouldn't & medical personnel with an official chart.

I tried to explain it from the other side, but based on some of these replies, some people just don't give a crap & don't want to understand & still insist on blaming the person asking the question. We as staff don't make that stuff up. Guess you would yell at the cashier at Martins for the high price of prune juice..

If they ask you the question, you don't have to be an ass about it, just politely say, I'd rather not answer that. They aren't going to do anything differently, except note that you didn't answer.. I've seen dictation that has it listed, and far more that don't. Just like some people refuse to be weighed.. it's their choice, & our day continues along, and the sun continues to rise in the east & set in the west..

<turning the soap box over to someone else>

The word is automaton, and it is spelled correctly.

In my line of work, I have to go several steps beyond just asking the person about their meds (Read: PERTINENT information) They must be personally recommended to me by someone that I or my supervisors trust, and then, I don't just ask them if they can weld. I make them weld a coupon in front of me and then I bend it or X-ray it to prove what they tell me is true. Trust me, 1050 degree steam at 4600psi is nothing to take lightly.

I'm not a complete cowboy. I just know what's important, and I don't mind calling BS on things that are irrelevant. In my profession it's called not being "job-scared".

 

[TTravis]

Maybe we are all missing their reason for question. This was a sleep study lab right?
Maybe they are looking for an answer like "Yes I have a firearm. I keep it under my pillow at night and I sleep better because of it".

 

[TheRude1]

I went to the doc about month ago, nurse came in and asked all the usual Questions Then asked the firearm question, told her nope wouldn't have em in my house! After I left and got into my car , looked in my rear view mirror and yup, had my NRA hat on! Oh well,

Now that is a Hommer Simpson move !

 

[mistap]

To further the discussion: should we allow mentally ill people to purchase guns? If not, then why is it inappropriate to ask an actively suicidal patient if they possess one?

That right there is a wholenothercanofworms, brother.

Unless one has been adjudicated, and forgive me if I misuse any terms, criminally insane and is commited to an institution, then I say, ABSOLUTELY. If they're safe enough to live among us, then why not?

It is a RIGHT afterall, not a priviliege.

 

[SERparacord]

Obamacare restricts doctors’ ability to ask patients about guns, a largely overlooked but significant challenge to a movement in American medicine to treat firearms as a matter of public health.

Read more: Obamacare restricts doctors’ ability to ask patients about guns | Conservative Byte


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[lovemywoods]

I was talking with my doc recently. He knows that I enjoy firearms.

He mentioned the question about firearms. I asked him why some people in the medical field are encouraging doctors to ask about gun ownership.

He wasn't sure but supposed it had to do with assessing risk at a person's home.

I asked if doctors shouldn't rather be asking: "Do you own any chainsaws?" I told him that my chainsaws are far more of a risk to my health than any gun I own!

He thought for a moment and said "Yea, I see your point."