Doctors Asking Parents about gun ownership

[MXGreg]

New York flags 278 gun owners as mentally unstable

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/07/ne ... latestnews

The Syracuse Post-Standard reported last week that since the law’s enactment, the state has collected 38,718 names in a database of individuals who have been found at-risk for owning guns by psychiatrists and other health professionals.

The paper said when the database was checked against a list of pistol permit holders in the state, there were 278 matches, less than 1 percent.

[Grayskies]

You always have an opportunity to provide feedback...all you have to do is write a letter. Furthermore, patient satisfaction surveys are mandated these days. One of the government's current initiatives is patient satisfaction. Patients are deluged with with questionnaires these days about how you felt about that visit or hospitalization. Those things are all looked at carefully by hospitals and clinics. Your concerns are heard, and reviewed. At our quality meeting every month, we review every single patient complaint and comment and any involved personnel are "spoken to", systems and procedures are reviewed. That applies whether you fill out a questionnaire and enter stuff into the "comments" section, or if you write a letter of dissatisfaction and send it to the hospital's adminstration. If there was something about your doctor visit that displeased you then I strongly encourage you to write a letter about it.

As to waiting to see the doctor, yes, it's a problem. There just aren't enough doctors, and the ones that do finish medical school aren't going into the primary care specialties...they're looking for jobs with a "controllable lifestyle", meaning no call, 8 hours a day, etc. There just aren't enough people going into medicine these days, but demand is higher than ever.

I don't think large corporations listen anymore...

The clinic I went to in the metro, they listen to no one, those surveys are a waste of a forest. I have brought complaints personally to the management, they go no where. I have a rather large scar on my leg from a doctor that should have known better. I know this because I went to the ER because it was getting alot worse, DR there had it controlled in 15 minutes. Where as the DR I was seeing had only made it worse over several months. I did file a complaint and it went no where. This is just one example, i do have a few more.

I am sorry, but I truly doubt you can convince me that these corporations listen, and judging from comments from family and friends who feel the same way, well, you have a uphill battle on bad ground, something like Pickett's charge.

I get that not all doctors are like that, we drive back to the cities because we choose to keep 3 doctors because they are just that good. Maybe there is a great place out here, totally willing to listen.

(i think you missed the point on the doctor wait time)

[BigBlue]

Doctors don't report anything. At any live birth, they fill out a bunch of forms for the medical record that are required by the state legislators that we all elected, and somebody files them with the state as required by law.

You're kind of naive. Anything that happens in a doctor's office related to you or your health is put into your medical record. That medical record is, almost universally today, electronic. The 0bummercare stuff is working its way towards a goal of a 'portable medical record' for patients so that all of your info can be available to any healthcare provider that you happen to go to. Your current medical records will flow into that. Along with that 'convenience' use what isn't actually called out is that other entities like insurers (your current one and potential future insurers) will get their hands on it. And, as with any database that the government has anything to do with, the government may eventually have access to it. At that point all it takes is a congress willing to pass a law saying that the gov can access the data and use it for whatever they want, including possibly as database about what you happen to do or own (smoking, guns, etc.). This isn't conspiracy thinking, this is the the natural evolution of what is being piecemealed together right now. You get a few more Sandy Hooks and they will be only too eager to mine all the data they can to 'save the children'.

BB

[Hmac]

You're kind of naive.

Everything you posted is obvious and well-known....by me more acutely than you because I deal with it every day, from a practical standpoint and an administrative standpoint. I'm not sure how that translates to me being naive.

[Hmac]

(i think you missed the point on the doctor wait time)

Maybe. My point is that you wait to get an appointment, wait in the waiting room, and only get 15 minutes because of volume of patients that that doctor has to see because there aren't enough of them to go around. Most places are hiring nurse practitioners and PA's like crazy, but there aren't enough of them to go around either.

It's going to get worse. We are only on the very front edge of this problem.

[Grayskies]

I have some strong beliefs from my personal experences. Others may have different experences. I truly do not want to irritate anyone here. I am sorry if that occured, truly. I would much rather talk about the Zombie Apoch anyway. So I am done with this thread.

Note: For Hmac: ya, they work people to hard, it is bad.

[LePetomane]

There just aren't enough people going into medicine these days, but demand is higher than ever.

Then why is it so hard for some of these kids to get into medical school? My daughter had a 3.9 GPA in Chemical Engineering (which is a hell of a lot tougher than pre-med programsand probably medical school) and didn't even get an interview at the U of MN or Mayo. Apparently they are looking for a certain type and it is not her. The Osteopathic schools in the midwest wouldn't touch her either. Part of me is happy as she is working with me while pursuing a graduate degree, but she wanted to be a physician. However, she has made peace with it and is earning a good income with me and doing a start up company. It really sours me on the medical profession that they would pass on a kid this smart and dedicated. In the long run I think she is better off.

[tman]

My experience is that as soon as someone tells me that it's none of my business when I ask them a personal question, I can easily guess the answer.

Just sayin'...

[Hmac]

There just aren't enough people going into medicine these days, but demand is higher than ever.

Then why is it so hard for some of these kids to get into medical school? My daughter had a 3.9 GPA in Chemical Engineering (which is a hell of a lot tougher than a lot of pre-med programs) and didn't even get an interview at the U of MN or Mayo. The Osteopathic schools wouldn't touch her either. Part of me is happy as she is working with me while pursuing a graduate degree, but she wanted to be a physician.

GPA is only part of the equation, and not the largest part. First, you have to have the prerequisite courses. There's very little crossover between Chemical Engineering and Pre-Med...not too many biology courses in Engineering. Did she have biology, physiology, biochemistry, and genetics? Those are key courses. In addition, there's the weight of the MCAT exam, the personal statement on the application, the letters of recommendation, and the student's personal history (how much community service, medical volunteer work, life experience, etc...anything that demonstrates a commitment to the health and well-being of one's fellow man). Those are the things that get the attention of an admissions committee.

Chemical Engineering is indeed a very tough course of study. I have a master's degree in Physical Chemistry. Chemical Engineering was beyond my capability.

[BigBlue]

You're kind of naive.

Everything you posted is obvious and well-known....by me more acutely than you because I deal with it every day, from a practical standpoint and an administrative standpoint. I'm not sure how that translates to me being naive.

"Doctors don't report anything."

Since that's obviously not true I assessed you as naive. If that's not the case than you're above statement just doesn't make sense.

[BigBlue]

My experience is that as soon as someone tells me that it's none of my business when I ask them a personal question, I can easily guess the answer.

Just sayin'...

Might be, but there is no way a doctor could translate your response into a 'yes' on your records. You didn't say 'yes' so they can't record it as 'yes'.

BB

[Hmac]

You're kind of naive.

Everything you posted is obvious and well-known....by me more acutely than you because I deal with it every day, from a practical standpoint and an administrative standpoint. I'm not sure how that translates to me being naive.

"Doctors don't report anything."

Since that's obviously not true I assessed you as naive. If that's not the case than you're above statement just doesn't make sense.

Doctors don't "report" anything in routine patient care. The only place that doctors have to put patient information is in the medical record...that's where all the information goes. They use it to deliver patient care. The extent to which other groups or entities have access to it or how they use it is beyond the doctor's control.

Maybe it's semantics that's hanging you up, or maybe you just don't quite understand how it works.

[Hmac]

My experience is that as soon as someone tells me that it's none of my business when I ask them a personal question, I can easily guess the answer.

Just sayin'...

Might be, but there is no way a doctor could translate your response into a 'yes' on your records. You didn't say 'yes' so they can't record it as 'yes'.

BB

"Yes" or "no" are the typical filed choices for only some components of the medical record. The text of the dictation of any given visit will contain the doctor's impressions, which will be reflected in the problem list. You can tell him/her that you don't smoke, or refuse to answer, but they will note and record the nicotine staining on your fingers or the smell of cigarettes on your clothing.

I don't think you quite understand how it works.

[BigBlue]

Doctors don't "report" anything in routine patient care. The only place that doctors have to put patient information is in the medical record...that's where all the information goes. They use it to deliver patient care. The extent to which other groups or entities have access to it or how they use it is beyond the doctor's control.

Maybe it's semantics that's hanging you up, or maybe you just don't quite understand how it works.

Putting info into the patient's medical record is reporting in my book. It will live there forever and will be available far and wide in the future to any entity that you allow access to your record (gov, insurers, providers). If you consider 'reporting' to mean the strict sense of 'contact authorities with an alert about something' then they don't 'report' it as they would child abuse or something, but they definitely record it and it will be available to entities that don't deserve to have it.

[BigBlue]

My experience is that as soon as someone tells me that it's none of my business when I ask them a personal question, I can easily guess the answer.

Just sayin'...

Might be, but there is no way a doctor could translate your response into a 'yes' on your records. You didn't say 'yes' so they can't record it as 'yes'.

BB

"Yes" or "no" are the typical filed choices for only some components of the medical record. The text of the dictation of any given visit will contain the doctor's impressions, which will be reflected in the problem list. You can tell him/her that you don't smoke, or refuse to answer, but they will note and record the nicotine staining on your fingers or the smell of cigarettes on your clothing.

I don't think you quite understand how it works.

Given the nature of this 'do you have guns in your house' question I highly, highly doubt that a doctor's musings in dictation would have any chance of being recorded in the field that will ultimately hold the yes/no answer to the question. I may not be in-depth knowledgeable about how doctor visits work but I know IT and data exchange.