Dang doc.... you fix their eyes and I'll never get laid again!

Seems like an odd question, but why would they even make a law that a doctor COULD NOT ask about guns at home? Seems like idle banter, unless, say, a child comes into the E.R. with a gunshot wound. Would that be violating your personal boundaries if the E.R. doctor says "How did that happen? Do you have guns at home?" Why throw the doctor in jail for that question?

Great,make the Doctor a Government-Spy!
As if it didn't happen in other Places before!
'Cause it is none of his Beeswax,unless someone comes in with a Gunshot-Injury,and then it is up to the Lawenforcement Authorities to investigate!
For a Doctor to ask questions from a Patient,who thinks and has the Right to expect that communication between him and his Doctor are confidential,then instruct the Doctor to babble whatever he's learned to some Government Agency smacks of the practices of a Totalitarian State!

If ever I find my way that far north!

But Maine? Ugh, sounds cold.

Because a doctor should concern himself with ONLY the medical issue the patient has brought to his attention, or any other medical issues he discovers. Asking doctors to engage in data collection for political reasons falls outside what a doctor should focus on.

It leads to all kinds of slippery slope data collection avenues. Our government needs to stop co-opting professionals to support there ideologies by legal fiat.

There are already HIPAA laws on the books, as well as established doctor/patient confidentiality. The question, again, is why make that question illegal. The doctor can't really use it, except for possibly making a diagnosis, but otherwise, it's a completely harmless question. Were people getting arrested for admitting to their doctor that they did have a gun at home? I can't imagine a situation where we need such a law, except for super paranoid, gun-owning members of Congress dreamt it up.

Alright. Update. I did some checking on this, after I didn't get anything reasonable from the Cons (i.e. "none of his beeswax"), and found that this is a law only in Florida.

Also, the law is being challenged on First Amendment grounds. Good!

Doctors may actually need to ask about gun ownership, especially when there's concern for the safety of other people in the house. Some of the drugs doctors may prescribe can affect judgement or dexterity, and while a patient may not be operating heavy machinery, they could (especially in Florida) go home to a large collection of guns and ammo. Also, in cases of mental illness, the doctor would be an ideal person to do something about a mentally ill person having a gun collection. That Florida law even allows for the question in those cases, but with the law in place, the doctor still faces lawsuits and other trouble in the absence of clarity.

A dr might ask in the case of an injury involving gunshot wounds, but that is covered under Dr/Patient confidentiality and not subject to disclosure of any other info other than the occurrence...then the police can do their job.

Any other info is a breach of confidentiality on the Drs part!

maybe not a Breach any longer in Cali!

No you don't understand.

Hippa is about personal information, it does not protect generalized data. The whole point of this is to collect data on gun ownership at a granular level stripped of personal info.

lol

Of course it sounds all nice and cuddly, politicians are not paid well just to make bad law, they have to sell the turd first.

Empowering a physician, who has no specialty in mental health to investigate his patient for gun ownership is NOT ok. Then allowing him to collect that data in a way which can be collected legally is not difficult at all.

Data collection for all kinds of disease is already done perfectly legally without violating any privacy laws.

If you believe this will not be used by the government you are seriously gullible.

I have a medical interview coming up next week.
I will record the interview.
I will sue if asked about firearms.
Medical personnel have no constitutional right to ask any question that has nothing to do with health issues.

It isn't, but the doctor's obligation to ask and (probably report the answer) is (if reported or revealed to outside agencies (like the insurance agency) a violation of doctor/patient confidentiality and an illegitimate attempt to deny to the patient his right to privacy.



They have no right, constitutional or otherwise to ask impertinent questions about what property you may or may not have. It is in no way health related. Just tell them you understand they might be required to ask, but you are under no obligation to answer such an impertinent question, which is none of their business. If they ask if you are refusing to answer, just say what you said WAS your answer and reiterate..."My answer is that, since the question relates to property and not health, it is none of your business." (Basically, it is NEVER a good idea to refuse anything...If you have to refuse something, it is best to accept conditionally...e.g. "I will answer your question upon proof of claim that private property I may or may not own has a direct bearing on my physical health.")