Yes, You Can: Physicians, Patients, and Firearms
Abstract
In 2014, a total of 33599 Americans died of gunshot wounds (1). Although the risk for firearm-related homicide is highest among young African American men, most firearm-related deaths are suicides, for which older white men are at highest risk (2). Public mass shootings account for a small percentage of firearm-related deaths but are occurring more frequently and could affect the character of public life in the United States (3). In early 2013, more than 40% of Americans worried that they could fall victim to firearm-related homicide or assault (4). Physicians seek to prevent important health problems at the individual and population levels. They inquire and counselroutinely in some cases, selectively in othersabout a wide range of health-related behaviors and conditions. In certain circumstances, they disclose otherwise confidential information to third parties to limit the risk an affected person poses to others. Physicians generally do not do well at firearm-related injury prevention, however. They ask infrequently about firearms and counsel poorly, if at all, although they are aware that the high lethality of firearms makes prevention efforts particularly important. In this article, we examine several commonly cited barriers to practicing preventive medicine for firearm-related injuries. Some physicians believe that it is against the law to discuss firearms; we show that this belief is unfounded. We then discuss the circumstances in which prevention efforts might be most…
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