By Lisa Haven
When a loved one is sick and not feeling well you take a trip to the doctors office where you expect that your doctor will ask you health-related questions about weight, exercise, symptons, sleep, etc.
Doctors who respect their clients ask these questions because it’s the “standard care” for their patient. However, what happens when they cross line?
Today, when you visit the doctors office you are inundated with intrusive questions that have nothing to do with your health. Questions like, do you, or someone in the family, own a firearm? Is the firearm locked up? Have you even ridden in the car with an adult who drank alcohol? Do you feel safe at home?
Such questions have no place in a doctors office, yet they have managed to creep there way in.
When Obamacare was passed, the NRA acted to protect our gun rights and pushed Section 2716(c) called the “Protection of Second Amendment Gun Rights” in the Affordable Care Act in order to combat having to tell your doctors about guns in the home. Verbiage read as follows:
Subsection (c)(1) stated that “A wellness and health promotion activity” implemented under Obamacare “may not require the disclosure or collection of any information relating to” lawful possession or storage of firearms or ammunition in a person’s residence.
Section (c)(2), stated that nothing in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act authorized the collection of information about the lawful possession or storage of firearms or ammunition.
Section (c)(3) stated that nothing “shall be construed to authorize or may be used to maintain records of individual ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition.”
With the inclusion of such “verbiage” many thought we were out of the lime light and our gun rights were protected in Obamacare. However, in 2013 when the U.S. Department of Labor issued an questionnaire about Obamacare Question five read,
“Does PHS Act section 2717(c) (the section pushed by the NRA) restrict communications between health care professionals and their patients concerning firearms or ammunition?”
THE ANSWER— “No. While we have yet to issue guidance on this provision, the statute prohibits an organization operating a wellness or health promotion program from requiring the disclosure of information relating to certain information concerning firearms. However, nothing in this section prohibits or otherwise limits communication between health care professionals and their patients, including communications about firearms. Health care providers can play an important role in promoting gun safety.
In other words doctors can still ask, nothing prevents them from doing so!
To make matters worse back in 2009 Obama pushed a “stimulus” and Physicians were rewarded $44,000 for adopting the Electronic Medical Records (EMRS). If they denied doing so they were penalized by reduced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111-5, § 4101, 123 Stat. 115; 42 U.S. Code § 300jj-11(c)(3)(A)(ii).)
These electronic records that were adopted grant the ability to have a “trail of your health history” follow you were ever you travel and forever amen!
There are now three kinds of Electronic Records:
1- Electronic medical record (EMR), which replaces the paper chart in a specific clinical setting.
2- Electronic health record (EHR), which is the granddaddy record; it is supposed to be transportable and contain all the clinical information about you from any medical professional who has interacted with you.
3- Personal health record (PHR), which is the record that the individual patient is supposed to see and manage. Of course, by federal decree, all this information is secure, private, and confidential.
The problem is you as a a citizen do not have the right to see anything other than the PHR. Why is that? You can log on are ready your credit report, your bills, the activity on your SSN number, but you don’t have a right to see the EHR and EMR files that President Obama forced Physicians to accept in their offices? Personally I do believe there is a little more at play here, specifically…data collection of your health.
For More Information See:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150625/you-may-feel-some-pressure
https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/electronic-medical-records-emr
https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/why-adopt-ehrs
https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/patient-participation
http://www.rural-revolution.com/2013/01/teen-questionnaire.html
http://eagnews.org/school-questionnaire-probes-students-on-parents-gun-ownership-political-views/
Lately I have been to several new doctors, have filled out the umpteen forms, and have never been asked about firearms, alcohol and driving, or even domestic violence. The one question I do refuse to answer is when asked my social security number.
Thank you for keeping us informed, much appreciated.
Greta, UK.
________________________________