Virtual care providers can help reduce gun violence

Are you frustrated with the level of gun violence in America? I am. Guns are a sensitive topic, and many people have strong opinions about their rights to own firearms. However, the presence of guns in homes has a great cultural impact — and a deadly toll of deaths from accidents, suicide and homicide. Gun ownership and the beliefs surrounding individual rights to bear arms are pervasive in American society, so doctors have an opportunity to inquire, educate, and guide our patients to help reduce avoidable firearm injury and death.?

As a preventive health measure, the American Medical Association (AMA) has created a task force committed to ending firearm violence by advocating for common-sense, evidence-based solutions. For those of us who are virtual health / telehealth providers, we have a unique vantage point to assist the task force's laudable goal. Because we have a window into our patients' home environments, we observe more social and lifestyle cues than in-office doctors may see.

Virtual care providers should use this advantage to guide our patients to an understanding of the hazards that a firearm in the home causes and offer simple advice on how they can reduce the risk. Safe storage and handling is important for all gun owners, but it is critical for our patients who have children in the home. We can make sure that parents know and understand the hazards, and we should advise our patients to take steps to prevent any child from accessing a gun in their home. Children are fascinated with firearms and will find them if they are not kept secure. For those who feel they may need immediate access to their gun, there are options for storage that enable rapid access via combination or fingerprint. There is a good discussion of this on UC Davis Health.

Education and information about gun safety is something we can do via virtual consultation. Can it be a tricky conversation? For sure. But it turns out that many patients are receptive to firearm safety discussions, as described in the FAQ below. For some great insights into how to get such a conversation started in a productive way, I recommend checking out the resources below from UC Davis Health and Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute.

Sources:

• Preventing deadly gun violence will be focus of AMA task force , AMA
• Injuries and deaths due to firearms in the home , Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
• FAQ: Patients are generally receptive , UC Davis Health
• What you can do , UC Davis Health
• Asking about firearm access can normalize and support dialogue for patients , Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute