Physicians are conflicted about their role in making recommendations regarding the competency of patients to carry a concealed weapon and the impact that role may have on patient-physician relationships, according to survey results published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Of the 222 physician participants, 65 percent felt it was not the role of primary care physicians to assess whether their patients are mentally and physically sound enough to carry a concealed weapon. Furthermore, 59 percent of respondents felt the denial of a signed permit would cause issues in the overall patient-physician relationship.
Twenty-one percent of the respondents stated they had been asked to sign competency permits for concealed weapons in the last year. A majority of that 21 percent had been requested to sign off on more than three such permits, according to the report.
Of the participants, 35 percent were family physicians, 38 percent were psychiatrists and 27 percent were internists.
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