# Are Doctors still asking odd (to me) questions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 17, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133 "2021-02-17T15:37:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/61 "2021-02-18T03:08:04Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > My doctor hands me a prescription for 50 hydros and doesn’t hand out a pamphlet on prescription drug abuse, doesn’t offer safe prescription drug disposal, and has never asked about me locking up my drugs from my kids. My dispensary where I legally purchase amazing incredible weed (Bio-Jesus Cresco Flower 8.5/10) gives me pamphlets on safe cannabis use with every sale. Using safely right now, as a matter of fact. Sitting down, lest I fall down. Things be on the up and up at the dispo ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/62 "2021-02-18T03:11:39Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > What a bizarre hill to die on. OK, I was looking for an excuse, this seemed appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/63 "2021-02-18T03:12:34Z")
> [@chela](#): > > then they want an urine sample from the child because well we’re screening for diabetes. We complied once, next time they asked I put my foot down said NO. The kid is slender, not chubby or even a teensy bit plump, skinny really and without any symptoms or concerns Type I diabetics can have difficulty keeping weight on. It’s very different than Type 2. (not that screening would have been called for) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/64 "2021-02-18T03:12:40Z")
You’re tougher than I am. Be well. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/65 "2021-02-18T03:14:10Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > While it is true that fluoride in toothpaste or locked cabinets are probably good things, you sometimes need to focus more on relevant ones. BINGO. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/66 "2021-02-18T03:21:24Z")
Pediatricians ask the gun question and also recommend asking your kids’ friends’ parents if they keep their guns locked up. Seems like a good idea. Sometimes people need a reminder if they don’t think about it much. My youngest actually found a gun left out at a relative’s house during a holiday get-together, someone I’d trusted completely. Thankfully she came and got me and didn’t touch it. I never even thought to ask them about guns. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/67 "2021-02-18T03:50:45Z")
Right, and so it seemed to me after nothing pinging on the diabetes chart my kid would be cleared of subsequent urine screenings but it became a matter of routine for a few years. Insurance would decline it then I paid the lab charges. Would’ve kept paying too if I hadn’t intervened. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/68 "2021-02-18T04:29:10Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > so feel free to be annoyed by the clearly political motivations as well. It is in no way a political question in a medical visit context. It is good medical practice. It is also good nursing practice to ask those same questions. Massachusetts General Hospital trained me to ask those questions in nursing assessment interviews. They aren’t political questions. They are harm reduction or health promotion opportunities. > [@kayaker](#): > > has remained up to date in his field. Actually, those questions are very optimal and up-to-date. > [@sitchensis](#): > > My doctor hands me a prescription for 50 hydros and doesn’t hand out a pamphlet on prescription drug abuse, doesn’t offer safe prescription drug disposal, and has never asked about me locking up my drugs from my kids. Actually, those functions are as much or even more the responsibility of the pharmacist who dispenses the drugs to you. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I can’t say anything more about this thread in its entirety, unless it gets moved to the Pit. I join you in this stance. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/69 "2021-02-18T05:29:30Z")
I have more sympathy for doctors and nurses now that I’ve read this thread. I never realized how prickly people get for no good reason. Holy frick. > [@sitchensis](#): > > My doctor hands me a prescription for 50 hydros and doesn’t hand out a pamphlet on prescription drug abuse, doesn’t offer safe prescription drug disposal, and has never asked about me locking up my drugs from my kids. Congratulations. You have an unethical doctor. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/70 "2021-02-18T05:44:59Z")
The question of confidentiality came quickly to my min, and, in US, you essentially have none. ## United States In the United States, the [Federal Rules of Evidence](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Rules_of_Evidence) do not recognize doctor–patient privilege. At the state level, the extent of the privilege varies depending on the law of the applicable jurisdiction. For example, in Texas there is only a limited physician–patient privilege in criminal proceedings, and the privilege is limited in civil cases as well.[[4]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician%E2%80%93patient_privilege#cite_note-4) You are not under oath when talking to your doctor, so I would be circumspect about answering such questions. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/71 "2021-02-18T07:22:05Z")
Last time I went to the ER, I was asked all sorts of questions. It took a long time to convince the nurse that the reason I had a big gash in my hand was my clumsiness in opening a can of cat food. But at one point I made her laugh: _“Do you ever feel like hurting anyone?”_ _“Aside from members of Congress?”_ ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/72 "2021-02-18T07:35:05Z")
No, they’re entirely ethical. They made sure to ask about guns. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/73 "2021-02-18T08:28:23Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > > [@sitchensis](#): > > > > My doctor hands me a prescription for 50 hydros and doesn’t hand out a pamphlet on prescription drug abuse, doesn’t offer safe prescription drug disposal, and has never asked about me locking up my drugs from my kids. > > Congratulations. You have an unethical doctor. Or they have a doctor who knows and trusts their patient. They’ve actually talked to them about the issues, not giving an impersonal pamphlet. They know the kids, too. My mom didn’t get this speech either. My doctor knows that neither my sister or I would ever abuse opioids. We hate the way they make us feel, and I’m scared to death of addiction and so only use addictive drugs when I absolutely have to. She also knows the danger of the drugs. And we don’t live where people break into our houses (plus I’m always home). We did get a pamphlet from our pharmacist, but it was basically just an ad for the latest Naltrexone, saying we’d need to pay hundreds of dollars for an inhaler, which didn’t make me think they really cared so much as were covering their asses. As for disposal–that is offered at most of the pharmacies around here and the local hospital, so it’s not necessary for the doctor’s office to take on the burden. Back to the OP: I’ve never been asked these questions. I probably wouldn’t react too negatively to them, as it would be one of those annoying questions the check off at the beginning anyways, like whether I smoke when they know I never will. But I do understand why such questions could rankle (especially the gun issue), and think there could be a tradeoff there. Like it or not, it is a political question to many people, part of the whole rugged individualism concept, so some people are really not going to like it. And it’s frankly kinda insulting to ask me if my family member is abusive. These aren’t questions without baggage attached. They carry more meaning that just what they’re being used for, and that can’t be ignored simply because the goal is good. That said, if I was annoyed, I’d tell my doctor that it annoyed me, and that I know all the stuff they’re going to tell me. And if that wasn’t enough, yeah, I might change doctors. My doctor caring about my feelings and not thinking they can pressure me into anything is kinda important to me. I’ve had that go really wrong–it’s why I’m as ill as I am today. Finally, I do question how well the abuse questions are as long as parents can accompany their children–something I’ve always seen. It seems to me that looking out for signs of abuse (behavioral and physical) would be more useful. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/74 "2021-02-18T11:52:29Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Finally, I do question how well the abuse questions are as long as parents can accompany their children–something I’ve always seen. It seems to me that looking out for signs of abuse (behavioral and physical) would be more useful. The abuse questions aren’t asked of children young enough that the parent would accompany them at all times. For those kids, the doctor is looking for physical and behavioral signs of abuse. Doctors ask to see older kids privately - but not simply to ask about abuse. Not all abuse is physical or leaves marks - if my daughter withholds food from me for three days as a means of forcing me to give her access to my bank account, the doctor will see no physical signs of that. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/75 "2021-02-18T13:14:37Z")
Good Jesus, if the answer is no, just say no. There are legitimate reasons these questions are asked routinely. mmm ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/76 "2021-02-18T13:44:57Z")
The Cleveland Clinic has never asked me about guns, but I do fill out a questionnaire about personal safety before I visit my doctor. It’s online and I can fill it in before I arrive. If I don’t fill it in, they ask me in person. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/77 "2021-02-18T14:55:53Z")
It’s amazing how our Nostradamuses can see perfectly into the future and know to a certainty that they will never need to deal with questions of abuse or personal safety, because things will always stay exactly as they are today and never change. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/78 "2021-02-18T15:03:56Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Finally, I do question how well the abuse questions are as long as parents can accompany their children–something I’ve always seen. It seems to me that looking out for signs of abuse (behavioral and physical) would be more useful. > [@doreen](#): > > The abuse questions aren’t asked of children young enough that the parent would accompany them at all times. For those kids, the doctor is looking for physical and behavioral signs of abuse. Doctors ask to see older kids privately - but not simply to ask about abuse. I remember when I was a teen, and my pediatrician asked me if I used pot. That was private. That being said, the last several times I took my mom to the hospital, they asked her if she felt safe at home, while I was standing RIGHT THERE next to her. Not that I’m abusing my mom, but as one of her children who, sadly, controls her access to medical care these days, I certainly must be near the top of the list of potential abusers. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/79 "2021-02-18T15:40:54Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > People need to stop making the world about themselves, and realize that these questions are generalized to the millions and if they produce even a handful of hits, they preform an extremely valuable service. THIS. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133/80 "2021-02-18T16:41:00Z")
Said another way, It’s called “public health” for a reason. it’s about all of us, not each of us. “All of us” versus “each of us” is pretty much the difference between being a citizen and being a consumer. Which years ago was part of my vBulletin sig line. Paraphrasing as best I can remember: > When we stopped being citizens and started being consumers, that was the beginning of the end of Western Civilization. Prophetic words from 20 years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-doctors-still-asking-odd-to-me-questions/933133.md?page=5)