Doctors ask about weapons?

[Emptymag]

Originally Posted by crazyyankee

...

Now I've never been asked about it either, but will be waiting for it the next time I go to the doctor...

I've never been asked either. Ever.

I don't have kids though, so my guess is that it's mainly used to tell you how dangerous it is that you have "guns" and that you should lock them up. You know, "just" looking out for your child's well being.

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by mauser

Even if all of us who are like-minded would start, there aren't enough of us to saturate the culture. Seems as though cultural saturation is only happening with undesirable behavior.

Well, you don't have to be the majority....only seen to the extent that it is accepted as "acceptable". You don't really even have to reach a point where people like it. Only to the point that they acknowledge it and take no other action.

I work in a the social services. Everyone at work now knows I shoot and attitudes are very friendly once some conversation was initiated.

Lycannocovertsocialchangethrope

[NineseveN]

Lycan's right, it doesn't have to be the majority, all movements start out small, even the bad ones. Years ago, maybe 10, only strippers and porn stars walked around with their thongs hanging out of their pants. Then the loose tramps started doing it. Now, and I kid you not, I've known two female managers/execs of fortune 500 companies to do the same during Mardi Gras (very professional and accomplished women otherwise). While there are still some people that speak out against it or try to have laws passed against such conduct, it has become largely accepted that femme's are gonna do that if they want to. The only reason it is going away now (or starting to) is that the fashion cycle has shifted, as it always does…but it will come back.

Look back at the history of tattoos, same thing.

While these things are not synonymous with the carrying or owning of firearms, the mechanisms of social change and acceptance are the same. The minority becomes accepted through the exercise of their rights, which, when put on public display desensitizes the common people to whatever it is, and then that minority takes on the appearance of being the majority (or becomes the majority altogether).

[Jughead]

If I'm not mistaken the AMA is anti-gun.

[Zef_66]

Originally Posted by NineseveN

Years ago, maybe 10, only strippers and porn stars walked around with their thongs hanging out of their pants. Then the loose tramps started doing it. Now, and I kid you not, I've known two female managers/execs of fortune 500 companies to do the same during Mardi Gras (very professional and accomplished women otherwise). While there are still some people that speak out against it or try to have laws passed against such conduct, it has become largely accepted that femme's are gonna do that if they want to. The only reason it is going away now (or starting to) is that the fashion cycle has shifted, as it always does…but it will come back.

I hope this trend never goes away!!!

Sorry, had to throw in some offtopic humor.

[mauser]

Originally Posted by Jughead

If I'm not mistaken the AMA is anti-gun.

No mistake.

[NineseveN]

Originally Posted by Zef_66

I hope this trend never goes away!!!

Sorry, had to throw in some offtopic humor.

Sorry bro, it's boyshorts and kiddie underwear coming into the fold now...


I'm no longer single (thank Frank!), but if I were, and I took a girl out and then things progressed to the ol' pet 'n sweat stage, and I were to find Strawberry Shortcake undies, I'd kick her arse right out the door. That's just friggen wrong. Save them things for laundry day for chrissakes!


Okay, back on topic.

[NineseveN]

A friend of mine forwarded something he saved that might be relevant to this discussion:

DRGO ALERT TO GUN OWNERS AND THEIR FAMILIES:

Do you own a gun? How many guns do you have? Do your children have
access to guns in your home? Did you know that having a gun in your
home triples your risk of becoming a homicide victim?

These are questions your doctor may ask you or your children as part
of routine physical examinations or questionnaires. All the
gun-related questions you are likely to encounter in doctors' offices,
especially pediatricians, are based on doctor groups' political
movement against gun owners. That movement is spearheaded by the
American Academy of Pediatrics, although the AMA and other physician
groups have launched similar efforts against gun owners.

With a few very rare exceptions, such questions about guns do not
reflect a physician's concern about gun safety. Rather, they are
intended to intimidate or prejudice impressionable and trusting
children (and their parents) into thinking that guns are somehow bad.

That political motive makes these questions ethically wrong. This form
of professional misconduct is known as a boundary violation. Any
doctor who asks these politically motivated questions about your guns,
either directly or on a questionnaire, should be disciplined.

And who can discipline the physician? You, the almighty consumer.
That's right. If you, the patient or parent, file a formal written
complaint with the offending doctor's HMO or medical group, your
complaint will be taken seriously. The doctor will be asked to respond
to it. In any case, your polite but firm protest will be a black mark
on his or her record that will likely make him or her think twice
before repeating the offense.

Patients not enrolled in a health plan (HMO) may see a private
practice doctor in a small group or solo practice. Unethical behavior
by such a doctor can be reported to your county medical society, which
is likely to have a public service committee whose job it is to review
complaints from the public. Although federal anti-trust laws have
mostly stripped these committees of their enforcement powers, they can
still get an erring physician's attention.

Medicine has become an extremely competitive service industry. HMO's
and medical groups are trying harder than ever to please consumers and
not anger them. The last thing a doctor wants these days, next to a
malpractice suit, is a health plan member complaint alleging unethical
conduct.

If the doctor persists or is especially inappropriate, you can send
that formal complaint to the doctor's state licensing board. You can
search your state government's web site to find your state's medical
licensing board. This site should describe the procedure for formal
consumer complaints. Also you can look in your phone book under state
government for your state Medical board's consumer hot line. Boards
generally accept only written complaints.

A consumer complaint to the medical licensing board is a last resort,
and it will be a definite blemish on the doctor's career. But it may
be necessary for repeat offenders. This step will apply enormous
pressure on the boundary-violating physician, even if the state board
takes no official action against his or her license.

To summarize: you don't have to suffer in silence, and you don't have
to disclose personal information about your gun ownership to
politically motivated doctors. And most important, you can strike back
at unethical doctors who abuse your trust to advance a political
agenda against law-abiding gun owning families.

I discuss the ethical basis for all this in my article at the
Claremont Institute's web site, "Boundary Violation: Gun Politics In
The Doctor's Office." You will find it at
http://www.claremont.org/publications/wheeler7.cfm

Please save this message and forward it to others you know who have
been the targets of anti-gun political activism in the doctor's
office.

Best regards, Timothy Wheeler, MD Director Doctors for Responsible Gun
Ownership a Project of The Claremont Institute www.claremont.org

[ChamberedRound]

Originally Posted by Emptymag

Agreed.

Seat belts? Car seats? Firearms?
None of it is relevant to health care. However, your answers MAY be relevant in the future... perhaps one day your insurance carrier will read through these answers and determine that you no longer qualify for coverage based on their "new" policy.

Funny that you mention this. My wife and I recently took my daughter for her yearly checkup, almost one year since her last checkup, and when I initially started this thread. This time, there were no questions about firearms directed at either my daughter, my spouse, or I. However, the doctor did ask my daughter:

- "Do you sit in a car seat and wear a seatbelt?"
- "Do you wear a helmet when riding your bicycle?"

As I've said before, IMHO these questions to me are ridiculous and do not pertain directly to my child's care. It would be a different story if my daughter came into the office with bruises on her head and/or body and asked these questions. But to do so without cause or context is ridiculous. My wife and I shouldn't be made to feel as if we're on trial simply because we're responsible parents bringing our child in for a well-visit.

I'm sure there are those who disagree, just my thoughts.

[Lycanthrope]

Originally Posted by ChamberedRound

- "Do you sit in a car seat and wear a seatbelt?"
- "Do you wear a helmet when riding your bicycle?"

As I've said before, IMHO these questions to me are ridiculous and do not pertain directly to my child's care. .

No, they pertain to health care, in general....and may underly some of the reasons your child may not have decent health care in 10 years.

Why do they ask?

The governement and insurance companies are extremely conscious about reducing the usage of health care and minimizing insurance costs. Yes, the insurance companies can make money now, but they are on the verge of oversaturation and crumbling health care and they know it. This is due to the general health care crisis that no one in the political demographic is talking about, but everyone in social services has been preparing for in the last 10 years.....

In a few years the baby boomers begin to retire. Now, you might say "big deal", but with the rising costs of medical care, there are not enough of us working to offset the costs we are going to see in the next 25 years. It's all documented in social work coursebooks around the nation, but won't make the policy headlines, because baby boomers are the politicians......who wants to cut their own health care expectations? And....majority rules. Thus, the rapid rise of insurance costs and the push for generation X and below to have: 401K plans (because social security may not be around...and certainly won't be effective for our generation) and employees paying into their own health care.

That is exactly why the government is beginning to pressure seatbelt usage, push healthy living programs for kids and is pushing hard for campaigns against smoking. They really don't care about your welfare. They are trying to prevent a financial crisis. With the #1 killer of baby boomers being heart disease followed by lung cancer and ICU costs over $1000/day, anything to prevent insurance costs will be on the list of things to do and insurance companies are starting to get prepared.

So...this isn't just my opinion. It was my graduate coursework in the late '90s.

Lycanit'snotgoingtogetbetterthrope