PUBLIC HEALTH
Preventing injury Physicians counsel young patients about safety
B Y C R Y S TA L C O N D E Whether counseling par- ents about baby-proofing their homes or discussing bicycle helmet use with young patients, physi- cians must be able to talk candidly to their patients about child safety and in- jury prevention.
Understanding the cru- cial nature of an open dia- logue between physicians and patients and their parents, Seth Kaplan, MD, a Frisco pediatrician, con- vinced the Texas Medical Association House of Del- egates at TexMed 2012 in May to oppose laws limit- ing the type of conversa- tions physicians can have with patients and/or their parents. The house adopt- ed a policy that TMA will “oppose any legislation that would seek to limit the scope of conversations physicians can have with their patients or their pa- tients’ parents, when the patient is a child.” Dr. Kaplan is the Texas
Pediatric Society (TPS) al- ternate delegate to TMA and cochair of the TPS
face discipline from the Florida Board of Medicine. “The political and so-
cioeconomic environment in Texas isn’t too differ- ent from that of Florida. I thought it would be smart for TMA to have policy on the issue of physician com- munication with patients in case the Texas Legisla- ture proposes similar leg- islation in the future,” Dr. Kaplan said.
In his practice, Dr. Ka- plan counsels patients and parents about gun safety and responsible gun own- ership by encouraging the use of trigger locks and locked gun cabinets and by telling them about the Texas hunter education and certification program developed by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife. This guidance reflects TMA policy on fire- arms.
After Florida passed its
Initiatives like the Texas Medical Association’s Hard Hats for Little Heads program help prevent injuries and save lives by promoting safety measures such as helmet use.
Committee on Administration and Practice Management. He felt compelled to speak up after learning of legislation Florida passed last year to restrict physicians from counseling parents and their children about firearm safety. Under the law, patients could report physicians for harassment if patients felt ques- tions about firearms were unnecessary, and physicians could
law, six physicians, along with the Florida chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physi- cians, and the American
College of Physicians, filed suit, alleging it restricts their First Amendment rights to discuss firearm safety with patients. In June, a federal judge agreed. She declared the law unconstitu- tional and blocked its enforcement. Many Texas physicians educate young patients and their parents daily about safety and injury prevention based on ex-
October 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 35
JIM LINCOLN
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