TY - JOUR
T1 - Law, ethics, and conversations between physicians and patients about firearms in the home
AU - McCourt, Alexander D.
AU - Vernick, Jon S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2018 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/1
Y1 - 2018/1
N2 - Firearms in the home pose a risk to household members, including homicide, suicide, and unintentional deaths. Medical societies urge clinicians to counsel patients about those risks as part of sound medical practice. Depending on the circumstances, clinicians might recommend safe firearm storage, temporary removal of the firearm from the home, or other measures. Certain state firearm laws, however, might present legal and ethical challenges for physicians who counsel patients about guns in the home. Specifically, we discuss state background check laws for gun transfers, safe gun storage laws, and laws forbidding physicians from engaging in certain firearm-related conversations with their patients. Medical professionals should be aware of these and other state gun laws but should offer anticipatory guidance when clinically appropriate.
AB - Firearms in the home pose a risk to household members, including homicide, suicide, and unintentional deaths. Medical societies urge clinicians to counsel patients about those risks as part of sound medical practice. Depending on the circumstances, clinicians might recommend safe firearm storage, temporary removal of the firearm from the home, or other measures. Certain state firearm laws, however, might present legal and ethical challenges for physicians who counsel patients about guns in the home. Specifically, we discuss state background check laws for gun transfers, safe gun storage laws, and laws forbidding physicians from engaging in certain firearm-related conversations with their patients. Medical professionals should be aware of these and other state gun laws but should offer anticipatory guidance when clinically appropriate.
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U2 - 10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.hlaw1-1801
DO - 10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.1.hlaw1-1801
M3 - Article
C2 - 29360029
AN - SCOPUS:85060919134
SN - 2376-6980
VL - 20
SP - 69
EP - 76
JO - AMA Journal of Ethics
JF - AMA Journal of Ethics
IS - 1
ER -