It seems you disagree with the professional boundaries set for medical
professionals. Let me try to explain. Suppose an accountant started advising
his clients on legal matters. In addition to a boundary violation the legal
profession might view the matter darkly.
You might understand that many professions have ethical codes that are intended
to guide professional advice and set boundaries that are not ill-defined as
much as broad. If you read my reference, you might see the boundaries for
doctors are clear enough. As a lawyer, you clearly will understand that it is
better to avoid a lawsuit for malpractice in the first place than try to defend
one for professional misconduct.
If I go to the doctor with the flu, whether I own guns or how they are stored
isn't relevant to my treatment (nor is whether I use seat belts). But the
doctor isn't "barred" from asking about my guns (or seat belt use) by a
professional boundary. What he shouldn't be doing is advising outside of his
professional expertise which is medicine (and offering advice where he lacks
training).
Phil
________________________________
From: "Volokh, Eugene" <[email protected]>
To: firearmsregprof <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 7:22 PM
Subject: RE: Doctors asking patients about guns
I’m skeptical of talk of “boundary violation[s],” which is
rather ill-defined term. It seems to me that if doctors want to ask patients
about things that they think are relevant to the patient’s health, they should
be entirely free to do so. To be sure, if they give the patient advice that is
unreasonable and harmful to the patient, they could be liable for malpractice
and for professional discipline. But I see no basis why doctors, lawyers,
accountants, or anyone else should be barred from asking their patients
questions.
Eugene
From:[email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Phil Lee
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 4:13 PM
To: firearmsregprof
Subject: Doctors asking patients about guns
President Obama suggested the other day as part of his "gun safety" initiative
that it was appropriate for physicians to ask about their patients' guns.
Doctors who advise outside of their area of expertise have committed a
professional boundary violation.
The link:
www.ethics.va.gov/docs/necrpts/NEC_Report_20030701_Ethical_Boundaries_Pt-Clinician_Relationship.pdf
, "Ethical Boundaries in the Patient-Clinician Relationship," National Center
for Ethics in Health Care, July 2003,
defines "for physicians: Professionalism is the basis of medicine’s contract
with society. It demands placing the interests of patients above those of the
physician, setting and maintaining standards of competence and integrity, and
providing expert advice to society on matters of health."
So, if a physician asks about guns in the home of a patient, it may be argued
that question has little to do with the patient's health unless he observes a
condition such as mental disturbance that justifies such a question for a
particular patient. Even if there were a circumstance with a patient justifying
the question, doctors advising on guns may be questioned about their training
("standards of competence") to do so. It is rare that a physician has been
medically certified to advise about gun safety and rarer still that a physician
studies the perils a patient may face (i.e. crime in his neighborhood). Unless
a physician undertakes a study leading to his certification and unless he
studied the patients unique circumstances, in advising he would not have
limited himself as a professional should do. According to the linked document
"A boundary violation occurs when a health care professional’s behavior goes
beyond appropriate professional limits."
Phil
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To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
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Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private.
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