Public Health

7 Major Medical Organizations Release Firearm-Related Injury Recommendations

The leaders of 7 major medical organizations have released a Call to Action addressing firearm-related injury and death in the US. The 7 organizations include the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, and American Public Health Association.

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“These recommendations stem largely from the individual positions previously approved by our organizations and ongoing collaborative discussion among our leaders,” they wrote.

Among the recommendations:

  • Comprehensive criminal background checks should be conducted for all firearm purchases.
  • Research on the causes and consequences of firearm-related injury and death, as well as potential strategies to reduce these events, should be conducted.
  • Individuals who are convicted of crimes against family members and intimate partners, as well as stalkers, should be reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check system and prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms.
  • Particularly in homes with children and individuals with dementia, substance use disorders, and some individuals with serious mental illness, safe storage of firearms is essential.
  • Access to mental health care should be improved and having a mental health disorder should not automatically prohibit an individual from purchasing firearms.
  • Physicians must be able to advise patients on issues affecting their health, including mitigation of firearms risks.
  • A common-sense approach to reducing casualties must address high-capacity magazines.

“Physicians are on the front lines of caring for patients affected by intentional or unintentional firearm-related injury. We care for those who experience a lifetime of physical and mental disability related to firearm injury and provide support for families affected by firearm-related injury and death. Physicians are the ones who inform families when their loved ones die as a result of firearm-related injury. Firearm violence directly impacts physicians, their colleagues, and their families,” they concluded.

“As with other public health crises, firearm-related injury and death are preventable. The medical profession has an obligation to advocate for changes to reduce the burden of firearm-related injuries and death on our patients, their families, our communities, our colleagues, and our society. Our organizations are committed to working with all stakeholders to identify reasonable, evidence-based solutions to stem firearm-related injury and death and will continue to speak out on the need to address the public health threat of firearms.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

McLean RM, Harris P, Cullen J, et al. Firearm-related injury and death in the United States: A call to action from the nation's leading physician and public health professional organizations [published August 7, 2019]. Ann Intern Med. DOI: 10.7326/M19-2441.