Veterans can lose their weapons permit if they answer yes to three questions in a medical exam-Fiction!

Veterans can lose their weapons permit if they answer yes to three questions in a medical exam-Fiction!
Medical workers and doctors asking if you own a gun– Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:

A forwarded email that cautions veterans about questions that maybe asked while in treatment at the Veterans Hospital.  The email says that if a veteran is asked about being stressed, feeling threatened or wanting to harm someone and if their answer is yes they could lose any authorization to carry a concealed weapon.  A warning to those to expect healthcare workers to ask, “Do you have a gun in your house.”
 

The Truth:

This one is fiction.  A spokesperson at the Veterans Hospital told TruthorFiction.com that all patients are protected by doctor/patient confidentiality and any information taken by the Veterans Administration (VA) is never shared with any outside agencies.   The only exemption to the case would be if a hospital were asked to assist in a criminal investigation.

The three questions about feeling stressed, threatened and desiring to harm others are to test for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which some of our men and women in the armed services have suffered as a result of combat.   This test is administered to many patients who served in the Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Other versions of this eRumor say that Medicare patients are being asked these questions by the health providers.   We have not found any evidence of this being true either.
 

Posted 05/18/09  Updated 02/10/14