Healthcare Update Satellite — 06-23-2014

The right to carry a concealed weapon only exists if your doctor says so. Many states are requiring that physicians certify whether patients are competent to carry a concealed weapon. Some states require mandatory reporting of those deemed not competent to carry a concealed weapon. Of course, the natural extension of such laws is that if the doctors make an inappropriate determination, then the doctors can be held liable if the certifiee does something inappropriate with the weapon. This New England Journal of Medicine article shows that many doctors aren’t comfortable making that determination. Then again, I’ve heard colleagues threaten that if they’re required to report people, they’re just going to make anonymous certifications that every police officer they see is not capable of carrying a concealed weapon, then forward them to the state using USPS Delivery Confirmation to prove that the reports were received. We really shouldn’t stop at physician certifications of competency for gun ownership. We should expand the physician certification to encompass other areas in which people could be potentially harmed. For example, physician determination of competency should be required for positions such as judges, CEOs, prosecutors, and anyone who comes into contact with a child. Dammit, we need to protect the children. We’ll have to re-publish this study again around November, but for now, keep in mind that using hypertonic saline nebulizers to...
Source: WhiteCoat's Call Room - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Healthcare Update Source Type: blogs