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Strange Questions They Ask You at the Doctor' Office

M

Married2Allis

Well-known Member
This seems to be getting popular. Weird questions that are asked before your doctor appointment.

When I took my kids to a pediatric appointment a few years ago, at the beginning the doctor would go down a list of questions -- one of which was ... "Are all firearms locked up and secured in your home?" to which I first replied -- "What if I said no." Then each time he would ask that question at the next appointment I would just say "Next Question".

Lately I have been going to a new family practice and everytime I go, after the nurse takes my blood pressue ... she does the questioning routine and asks me "Is there someone bothering you?" and "Are you depressed?" She also asks me everytime "Do you smoke?" and "How much do you drink?" ... like they are going to compare my answers from previous appointments. LOL

Does anyone else experience this crazy behavior?
 
Things like the firearms stuff I tell them it is not there business to know that.

As for drinking I say when I want to and when I don't want to I don't.
Smoking well I quit about 5 or so years ago.
As for depression I tell them no
As for some one bothering me I them in this day and time it can happen just by watching TV. So having bad neighbors

But my doctors are V.A. doctors so they know most vets have firearms and know how to handle them
 
Don't know if it's true or not but, I was told these questions are used to see if you are going to be the
next nut to kill someone. I was asked these questions once. I told them it was none of their business and
to put it in their computer to not ask again. They have not ask since.
 
I got asked a set of questions recently.
I went in for my yearly visit and nothing unusual.
A week later they called and wanted to schedule me for another visit.
Seems that Medicare was wanting a series of information on me.
They checked my hearing and my vision, as well as asking me a battery of questions.
Am I sad?, Do I feel better off than others?, Are my guns at home secure?, among other personal questions.
I told the doctor I wasn't thrilled with this. He said it was routine stuff Medicare was paying for.
 
Last time they asked me the firearm question I asked if they also wanted to know if I kept any jewelry or other valuables at home and if they were
planning a robbery. Like most others I told them it was none of their business and I already have enough problems with identity theft.
One thing to remember when in the doctor's office; In this country around 60k people a year die from gun shots but over 200k die each year from
malpractice.
 
Our doctor started asking those questions for a while shortly after that external_link was passed, but they've quit asking. No demands - just quit. Maybe just with certain patients, maybe just certain doctors, or maybe whole clinic - I dunno.
 
No, I've never been asked about guns. The staff only ask why I am there and how are you paying.

Dr. knows I don't drink or smoke, that's all in the records he has in front of him. He will ask about stress, home problems, work problems, but all very general, just "how are things going" type questions.

Then the usual, stop eating anything good, loose weight, take up jogging, take you meds...

Yeah right...

If Drs. were concerned about who the next nutcase that goes on a killing spree would be, maybe they would quit handing out scrips for addictive narcotics to anyone that asks for them!
 
"[b:654c4848f0][i:654c4848f0]Does anyone else experience this crazy behavior?[/i:654c4848f0][/b:654c4848f0]"

Yes, both the gun ownership and depression questions.

My reply is always "No".

Read an article that "old white guys" are 6 times more likely to commit suicide with a gun.

Same article stated "young black guys" are 20 times more likely to be homicide victims from guns.

Here's <a href="https://www.ammoland.com/2015/06/what-to-do-when-your-doctor-asks-about-your-guns/">one fellow's opinion on the subject</a>.

I believe the "Love Is The Answer", but plan on carrying both handguns just in case.
 
Number one,I haven't been to a doctor since 2003,and if they did,the only question I'd answer is "Is there someone bothering you?". I think you know what the answer would be to that don't you? The person asking too many questions.
 
I got the call from Medicare wanting to ask me a lot of medical survey questions. I asked was I going to be compensated for my time and how much. She said it was voluntary and it was my choice to decline. I said "Babe that's my choice" and hung up. TDF
 
she asks me if I ever feel like harming myself, I reply "I don't have to do it on purpose, I beat myself up all the time, slamming door on thumb, nailing shin on receiver hitch, missing bottom step on combine or tractor, and a multitude of other mishaps". She laughed and told me to slow down. Forgot to tell her about cat scratches and bites from the little monster.

Dick ND
 
yes i have come across that---i just tell them its none of their business about guns
smoking and drinking could be a factor in your health so answer that as you choose
 
Well, the most aggravating question they ask me is my date of birth. I have told them more than once after 44 daily radiation treatments that they shouldn't have to ask. I get the same answer, "policy,we have to". After a while I spouted out month, day as 33, and year. Some caught it, others didn't. When they were prepping me with the radioactive die for my stress test last week, the RN asked it before administering the shot. She laid down my file beside me and I reached over and turned it, and she said that "that's cheating" She,her assistant, and I had a good laugh about the policy. I also told them that I stayed up most of the night studying for the test and hoped I would pass it. Got the results back this week. I didn't do so good. They scheduled me for catheterization and more stints. My hydraulic pump is cavitating, and my hyds. are slow and jerky. After cancer and several strokes and heart attacks in the past 2 yrs.they have a complete history on me and don't ask all the other questions anymore. Just ask if I am in any pain. That can lead to some laughs also.
Loren
 
A pediatrician asking if the home is child safe seems reasonable (dangerous liquids locked away, guns in a safe place, etc). Asking about mental state (things bothering you or depression) are fair too - both cause many bad health related side effects.

As far as your birthday - that's the best way to ensure they have the right patient. It's easy to have a file for the wrong person with the same name but the chance of both a name and birthdate collision are remote. I'd rather have them ask than give me the wrong medicine.
 
Mike ................. Living north of the border, my answer would be "yes" because I don't have guns at home.
 
Yes, though I like my doctor, she asked a few odd ones in the past, as have others. One was about being single, just thought it was odd. The more you tell them, the more they ask these kinds of questions.
 
The nurse that asked me if anything was bothering me seemed to have a sense of humor. Maybe I should have said "not since I cut that guy up and put him in my freezer."
 
YES they ask all the same weird questions. So I asked in return "Why are you asking these questions?" To which they responded saying the feds wanted to know. Some politician is trying to build a case so he/she can force through some unwanted legislation. My next question was "Do I have to answer?" The answer NO. So that generated just put down I decline to answer any of them.
 
M2A, if questions like that bother you, you really will not like the questions they ask when you donate blood, LOL.

My gut reaction used to be to seek older doctors closer to my age. In the last few years I've found that the younger doctors spend more time diagnosing my problems and they actually do a better job than the older doctors. For me the younger doctors are more likely to get things right the first time while the older guys jump to conclusions too soon and I need a second visit to find the real problem.
 
I question that they ask me is: "Have you travelled outside of the continental U.S.A. within X number of days?"
 
(quoted from post at 15:42:52 04/13/17) M2A, if questions like that bother you, you really will not like the questions they ask when you donate blood, LOL.
Click to expand...
You know I am actually afraid to have someone stick my arm now. 2 years ago I had blood taken for a checkup and the woman missed her target and struck a nerve. The next day I went to the beach and my arm felt like it was going to explode that whole week.
 
If they ask me who do they contact in case
of emergency i always tell them a doctor if
it serious a priest or maybe a good lawyer
that always gets them going.
 
My Doctor has never asked me if I have any guns at home but he does ask if I had any luck while deer hunting. It seems that he is a hunter to.
 
My doc has the club record for most trap without a miss. Dang good at
skeet too. Has never asked about guns, he knows. Trip to emergency
room and even last trip to dentist they asked.
 
I was pizzed when the pediatrician ask about
gun being in the house out of reach. I said
we have no guns. That got me thinking about
leaving my deer gun out Incase one stops in
for snack in my yard or leaving my handgun
on the table with my wallet when I come in a
night. It's my own business about have guns
but it's also a responsibly to keep my
children safe. My family Dr has never ask
any other questions then what wrong with me.
He's older man with a great sense of humor.
Went in one time with poison ivy and I was
leaving said hope your pecker don't fall
off!
 
They always ask me if I have thought about suicide. I used to tell them that I thought about murder, not suicide. Don't do that anymore, I think they would show up at the house to take my guns.
 
Ah yes but since the government got them selves involved in our healthcare both through medicare and the affordable health care act they now have the right to ask AND act if they figure they can justify it in
the grounds of cost savings. Remember there ain't no free lunch, they offered free stuff and enough people took the bait so now they figure they have the right to but in. The thing that makes my blood
pressure raise is on the medicare thing, we forced to pay into it so in essence they force us to pay into medicare so at a later date they can try to abridge our rights because they're "giving" us something we
paid for. Of course not enough folks realize or understand if the government is "giving" us something someone's paying for it, might be us or someone else but they had to take the money form somewhere.
 
My doctor has been asking me if I 'fall down' or in danger of falling ! well ? I'm almost 75, yes I could fall down !
If I tell my wife the guns are hers ! can I say, "No, I don't own any" ?? of course, I cannot do that.
Maybe, at my age, I can tell my only son, they are his now ! but I will keep them safe for him,,, until I cannot. hmmm
 
Since my wife works in a clinic I asked her what she asks a patient when she rooms them. First there are no paper files. When a patient checks in with the front staff the reason for the visit is entered in to the computer. When the patient is roomed the
reason for the visit is on the computer in that room. My wife is only required to ask questions related to the reason for the office visit. If she senses depression she will then ask questions to identify what is causing the depression. She does not ask about guns or living conditions nor does the doctor.
My doctor of forty years doesn't ask me anything other than what hurts this time. lol
 
Doctors and teachers are mandatory reporters when it comes to child abuse but They have to see or hear the evidence first. I've never heard of a requirement to pry into a healthy patient's private life to see if they are living dangerously.
 
(quoted from post at 12:59:51 04/13/17) Last time they asked me the firearm question I asked if they also wanted to know if I kept any jewelry or other valuables at home and if they were
planning a robbery. Like most others I told them it was none of their business and I already have enough problems with identity theft.
One thing to remember when in the doctor's office; In this country around 60k people a year die from gun shots but over 200k die each year from
malpractice.
Click to expand...

60K, where did you get that figure from? More like 32K with almost 20K of those being suicides, less than 1000 at cops hands, less than 1000 accidental. My figures are from the federal government, both the FBI and Center for Disease Control.

Rick
 
When I went on Medicare Medicare gives you a free wellness checkup and that is one of the questions they ask you.When they asked me I said it
was none of their business and nurse thats a no and marked it so.
 
This is interesting. I was once on a trap shooting team with our family doctor. He's also a deer hunting buddy. Also, my dentist is an avid firearm collector plus his wife doesn't do bad with a 9mm pistol. We talk about guns all the time when I have a dental appointment. Plus I run into him and his wife all the time at gun shows.

Medical and dental treatment in a small town is a whole different ball game. A doctor is just another guy (or gal) doing his job, compared to the cities where a doctor keeps himself 'way up on a pedestal.
 
After having a stroke and getting home. I went to the local clinic to get set up with the local doctor. After we talked I heard the nurse ask him. If
he had ask about my guns. I saw him look at her and with a stern voice say. That is no ones dang business. I knew I had found a good doctor.
 
This "do you own firearms" and "are you depressed" are catch words for removing firearms from "dangerous" or "unstable" persons, or "endangering the welfare of a child". Previous worshington bum's back door anti gum actions. Been several cases of normal citizens having to spend BIG $$$$$$$$ and many months getting firearms returned to them because gummint decided they "dangerous".

Only proper answer : NO I don't own any and NO, I am not depressed. Docs are required by LAW to report anyone who owns firearms to be reported to "officials" if they answer yes to depression question. Be very careful how you answer those two questions!
 
I went to a new Dr. a while back and one of the questions on the new patient form was "Do you use recreational drugs?" The nurse did not think it was funny when I asked if Ciallis counted.
 
If you have never heard of this, then you aren't paying attention, Sir. There have been several cases of wrongful confiscations of firearms in the last 3 years or so. And it's the devil's own time getting them returned.
 
For you dairy farmers out there, I have had one doctor ask if I ever drink raw milk. FYI the correct answer is no. She proceeds to read me the riot act to which I said I've been drinking it for 45 years and it hasn't killed me yet.
 
NO use to blame the medics.

Call your congressman and tell them that's enough, already, it is "Big Brother" that has brought this about, not the folks at your local clinic.

And, YES, it makes me steaming MAD.

Thought "NAZI tactics" of getting people to report to the govt. ended a generation ago, and now this.
 
My wife was in the hospital a few years ago for a hysterectomy. She had a bruise on her leg where she had bumped it at work. She got a hundred questions concerning domestic abuse. Good thing she didn't get it
getting on an old tractor or I'd probably have been locked up.
 
They often ask if I fall a lot. Answer, yes - part of job description. I'm a farmer.

When you think of it, there are a lot of trip and fall hazards on a farm. Rough ground, climbing on machines, hay mows, mislaid baler twine, etc. Just tuck and roll. Bumped my knee on corner of back gang of disk the other evening, in a dark polebarn. Went sprawling. Learn to tuck and roll. Haven't broken anything yet. But for 70, I'm pretty limber.
 
They usually ask me if I have traveled to south Africa, I give them a stunned look and turn to wife, and say, "Have we been to south Africa recently?" To which she answers in the negative. Turn back to the nurse, and say' "I didn't think so." Always backs 'em off a few seconds.
 
I'm reading through all this and I have to say my experience has been the same as yours. Just had my third Medicare physical (First one found Prostate Cancer) and the only question asked was if I had fallen more than three times in the last year. Never asked about guns or drugs. Dr. had a list of questions from Medicare and I don't think there's anything about guns. Our current leader wants to cut back on Medicare and increase the cost to senior citizens as a way to discourage us 'old folks' from going in for checkups. Seems more than a few here are blaming the wrong 'party' for intrusions into their personal Life.
 
Just had my routine 6-month checkup. Had forms inquiring about alcohol, sleep and depression, all fairly reasonable medical-related topics. Nothing from forms or doctor about guns. Doc is a deer hunter.
 
Yeah the one about " do you use recreational drugs" . Like nodding off on dope is a friggin' hobby or some BS. I went to the counter and said is this supposed to be hyphenated . Don't you mean re-creational drugs .Nobody laughs at my jokes. I had never heard the term recreational drugs.
 
Just part of them trying to pry into your lives and put a ding in your permanent record. Just like all this BMI and smoking records they are compiling. Part of a way to jack up your health care rates.

When my boy was little they thought they had a "live one" to sick the feds on us. When they asked if he felt safe at home he said NO. Then they asked why and he said we lived near the woods and BIG FOOT lives in the woods ! Wife and I still laugh about it to this day ! LOL. This was at least 20 years ago.
 
Interesting topic. Maybe you would like to hear from a 70 year old, gun owning, tractor driving (3 JD's) retired doctor who checks this forum most days. In my first year in practice, I unsuccessfully tried to care for the 2 year old whose daddy backed over her head with his tractor. Not long afterwards, a 9 year old whose foot was cut off by the barn cleaner chain. And later a 2 year old fatally shot by a five year old brother playing with loaded rife kept by the door "just in case." So yes, I am real interested in how and where guns are stored and how kids and machines interact. I never ask about gun ownership because the government tells me to and I don't report it to anyone. I just want to know how a parent keeps his kid safe. It is part of caring for the familyI praise the ones that tell me they teach their children how to use and respect guns, and I encourage them take hunter safety courses (taught by old guys like me) but I also ask if their kids do everything they are told 100% of the time (Mine didn't) and remind them that a gun safe or a trigger lock gives them peace of mind when they are not watching. That and safety around machines and animals. I've had my share of cow kicks, stomped on feet, busted knuckles and a broken nose while trying to catch a cow's head, and I'm supposed to know what I was doing. And of course, people don't have to take my advice, and plenty don't, but I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't have the discussion.

And as for those questionnaires, I hate them as much as you do. Probably the best thing I can do as a doctor is to sit down, put my computer down and ask "how's it going for you today?" and go where that leads.
 
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