When a patient goes to their primary care clinic for a regular checkup, they expect to talk about preventing health problems and managing their health risks.
More than half of adult patients skipped a question about firearms on the questionnaire used in many clinic waiting rooms and online portals at the health system where the study was conducted. But nearly all of them answered the rest of the questions about other health and social topics.
On the other hand, 32% felt it was only slightly important, or not important, to discuss firearm safety during checkups with all adult patients.
The survey was conducted in summer of 2022, and had 109 responses from providers at 10 clinics. Since that time more training has become available for Michigan Medicine health care providers about how to address firearm-related safety and risks with patients. For instance, it is now a formal part of the curriculum for Internal Medicine residents as they provide outpatient primary care.
He and colleagues have already carried out, and are preparing to publish, additional studies of firearm screening in other Michigan Medicine primary care clinics such as Family Medicine, Geriatrics and Pediatrics, and surveys of providers in other primary care clinics.