With regard to all the doctors I have gone to with DH none have asked me the question that was on a new patient intake questionaire I picked up today. By the end of this year, I join the others who are on medicare and are Classic Citizens ( none of the senior citizen thing for me..what in hell are we going to graduate to anyway? and besides, antique cars are " Classics" why should we be any less??) But back to the question....It had all sorts of questions on it and some were a bit odd but the two that were the most well beyond boundary in my view are " do you wear seat belts when you drive" and " do you have guns in the home". What in tarnation does that have to do with treating a patient for hypertension or headaches, the sniffles or hip replacements? I do not intend to answer those questions..to me they are political and not medical.. Has anyone else had such a question asked of them?
I have been asked the question about the seat belt use and I figured it was just a way to open a dialogue if someone said that they did not use them.
I don't ever remember being asked about weapons in the home but assume that it would have the same purpose. If there are children or demented family members it might be a good idea to remind the family about proper storage or even removal of these items.
I am sure you can skip those questions and no one would care.....
I saw a specialist this week regarding my osteoporosis. He took the time himself to ask me all about myself, where I was born, siblings, parents, my educational level, diet and exercise routine, alcohol use, did I use a seat belt, and other personal questions. This was an attempt to get a better picture of me, my lifestyle and what I do to take care of myself. I have never had a doctor take this my time and was pleased that he did. After telling him I was a caregiver for my husband he gave me some valuable recommendations for taking care of myself. One that hit home was"" if you break your hip, you know that your husband will be in a long term care". I know at this stage he can't be alone and twice when I have taken him on a walk he has fallen. I need more exercise and by myself.
Be prepared to see all sorts of questions on future visits to doctors. This is all part of the Obama Health Care. My DD works for 5 doctors and she has forewarned me about the new directives the physicians are receiving. We may choose to not answer them now but you can bet it will be mandatory before long.
I dida little googleling on the subject last night...just asked the question and there were all sorts of replies and several nurses, Shirely, made this observation as well as did a couple of doctors..one suggested that when asked this question, especially about weapons and guns in particular, to just not answer it and not be confrontational. Just don't answer it and if the nurse or even doctor presses the issue, inasmuch as this is not a medical question, but a political one with AMA backing it, and that anything you put on a form can then be transmitted to any other medical facility ( should you be referred to a specialist as an exammple), to just use two little words....boundary violation. The medical professionals will know just what that means. For us, in simple terms it means the physician or nurse is getting to personally close, that this question is none of their business any more than knowing how much your art collection is worth, what kind of car you drive etc. Since that question was on my forms, should I decide to go to this doctor, I will just ignore it.
I have been asked the seat belt question every year at my complete physical for many many years. I always assumed that it was partly to know if I cared enough about my health to safe guard it with seat belts and partly to gather statistics. When you read in the paper or magazine that so many percent of the public does this or that, those numbers have to come from somewhere. At my first check up after my husband died, my doctor asked me if I live alone, do I have family support and was I ok financially. I took this as a sign of caring on her part. If the time comes that I am asked a question that I feel is none of their business, I will tell them so.
Mimi...I am with you!!! And ehamilton, I really would take offense to a question about my financial business. As long as I pay their bill it is none of their business.