Gun Politics in Your
Doctor's Office
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 rare exceptions, such questions about guns do not
reflect a physician's concern about gun safety. Rather, they
are intended to prejudice impressionable and trusting children
and their parents into thinking that guns are somehow bad.
That political motive makes these questions ethically wrong.
Any doctor who asks them, either directly or on a questionnaire,
should be disciplined.
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) might see a doctor
in a small group practice or solo practice. Unethical behavior
by such a doctor can be reported to your county medical society.
Although federal anti-trust laws have mostly stripped medical
societies of their enforcement powers, they can still get an
erring physician's attention.
Medicine has become an extremely competitive service industry.
Medical groups are trying harder than ever to please consumers.
The last thing a doctor wants these days, next to a malpractice
suit, is a patient complaint alleging unethical conduct.
If the doctor persists or is especially inappropriate, you can
send that formal complaint to the Medical
Board of California. For instructions on filing
a complaint go to web site www.medbd.ca.gov
or call (800) 633-2322. This
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 offending 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. Most important, you can strike
back at unethical doctors who abuse your trust to advance a political
agenda against law-abiding gun owning families.
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