Massachusetts Guidelines For Doctors Talking to Patients About Guns

The Huffington Post published an article about how the state of Massachusetts is creating guidelines to help doctors talk to patients about guns. I didn’t know this before reading the article, but apparently Florida tried to pass a policy called Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act (FOPA), which criminalized doctors who talk to their patients about guns. That law didn’t pass because it was challenged in court and then killed because of so much litigation going on around it.

A summary of the FOPA litigation is now posted on the New England Journal of Medicine website. The medical journal is trying to encourage doctors to be more active in talking to their patients when the topic of guns comes up during a visit. Or even to encourage the doctor to bring up the topic of gun ownership and gun violence even if the patient does not bring it up.

While my own doctor as an adult hasn’t talked to me about guns, I do recall my son’s pediatrician asking if we had guns in the house and if so, how they were secured. Many doctors are reluctant to bring up the topic of guns is apparently because they don’t cover gun violence discussions in their medical school training. Also, apparently, the medical organizations that doctors belong to have not provided the doctors with any guidelines on resources for intervention.

The state of Massachusetts is trying to fill that gap now by publishing resources with advice for both physicians and patients on issues of access to guns and how to talk to gun owners if their actions seem to put them at risk of injury.

Since we’re all gun owners here, how would you feel if your doctor asked you about guns in your home, gun safety, or potential for gun violence in your home? What would be the best way for them to approach you about it?