Here’s kind of a curious story out of Ocala, Florida: Amber Ullman claims her two daughters were discharged from their pediatrician’s practice because she declined to answer a question about firearms in her home.
She and her ped were going through some questions when he asked if she had any firearms in the house. She hesitated before deciding not to answer – a move that she says cost her kids their doctor.
“There was no reason for him to discharge my children other than I refused to answer did I have a firearm in my home,” Amber says, adding that the worst part is the fact that her kids have to suffer because of her decision not to answer the question.
It’s noted in the article that pediatricians are urged by the American Academy of Pediatricians to discuss the dangers of guns with parents and advocate their removal from the home. Also mentioned is that there’s no law stating that a doctor *must* see a patient. Amber says her doctor didn’t give her anything in writing or a specific reason for discharging her family.
I’d like to think that there’s some back story missing here – events leading up to this that prompted Amber’s ped to drop her family, or something along those lines. I agree that it’s her kids who are affected the most by this – what are your thoughts?
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Wow. I wonder if they doctor was looking for an excuse to discharge them as regular patients and saw this as the opportunity. There could be so many reasons. One could be the ped wanted to get rid of any high risk insurance patients that might be difficult to treat if their insurance doesn’t have adequate coverage. It would interesting to see if that ped has discharged a larger than normal number of patients in the past. OR maybe the doctor hates Charleton Heston.
What bothers me about this story is the doctor is specifically a ped and his/her number one concern should be those kids. If there are firearms in the home, shouldn’t the doctor be MORE concerned about these kids than those without gun-owning parents? Therefore wouldn’t this doctor think it would be wise to have a continuous and thorough history of these children just in case? That’s my two cents.
katie | motherbumper´s last [type] ..What Is It No Really- What Is It
I just think it’s creepy weird that peds can as that question at all. What about kitchen knives? How many accidents do they see involving those and other sharp objects around the home? And stairs? Glass windows? Puleeez!
My ped has asked that question, and although the answer is no, she has followed it up with an explanation that she wants to be sure that if there is, it is secure & inaccessible by the kids. Maybe this doc was really risk-adverse and didn’t want to mess with a parent who wasn’t willing to be honest one way or the other.
Um, wow. If that was my pediatricians opinion my children would never find medical care. Not only do we have guns in the home but my children are licensed to shoot them.
I get the fear surrounding guns. Accidents happen, most of which are completely preventable. But not all gun owners are irresponsible and some of us gun owners have educated and put a healthy dose of fear into our children when it comes to gun safety.
But this reminds me, I need to buy more ammo.
Redneck Mommy´s last [type] ..Who Needs A Map
I wonder if the issue here is that she hesitated and wouldn’t answer the question. I can see the doctor feeling like they might not want to treat someone’s kids if the parent won’t be honest about the risk factors in the child’s home. Asking about guns is a standard practice and a yes/no answer usually doesn’t lead to dropping a patient, just shapes the nature of the follow up advice the doctor will offer.
I think the mother should think about why she felt like she didn’t want to answer that honestly.
Wendy´s last [type] ..I’ve got a bad feeling about this…
I think it shouldn’t be legal not to see a patient. I’m pretty sure it IS illegal if someone sick comes into a hospital (or injured) and the doc doesn’t treat them, so the fact that pediatricians can refuse children without cause seems kind of double-standard-ish to me. And when I say “cause,” I mean like, your kid spits on people or bites or screams for no valid reason or something.
While I think that answering a gun question should be mandatory (example of why: a kid gets shot by accident in the house, but there are no guns in the home that the ‘rents know of – where did the gun come from?) the mom does need to think about why she didn’t want to answer either way. In a situation like that, the only reason I could think of for not answering is if the person has something to hide – like the gun is illegal.
i think its sad that a doctor can ask a personal qquestion about our constituional backed rights and deny service based on not receiving an answer. if the doctor asked “Are you gay?” would we have to answer the question? The gay lifestyle has as many risks as owning guns but they would most likely be un in arms (pun intended) if doctors refuse service to alternaitve lifestyle choices.
ocala parent´s last [type] ..Welcome to Ocala 4 Kids