"You’d be surprised how many people have guns in their houses," said Dr. Jill Creighton.

As a pediatrician at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on Long Island, Creighton routinely asks her patients' parents during their children's regular checkups whether or not they own guns -- a question that roughly a quarter of them answer affirmatively.

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"Physicians not only have a responsibility to their patients to diagnose and treat illness, they also have a broader societal obligation to improve population health," Dr. Steven Weinberger of the American College of Physicians wrote in editorial accompanying the paper. In a nation where 33,559 people died of gunshot wounds in 2014, teaching patients about firearm safety needs to be part of that responsibility.

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The publicity surrounding {Florida's} "Docs vs. Glocks," which is being appealed by a group of plaintiffs including medical groups and doctors, seems to have had an effect far beyond Florida's borders. Wintemute said that over the past few years, as he's given talks about physicians' roll in reducing firearm violence, medical professionals in the audience have repeatedly questioned whether they are prohibited from speaking with patients about firearms under the Affordable Care Act or state law.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/wellness/this-question-could-save-your-life-but-doctors-dont-ask-it/ar-BBtfsBH?li=BBnbfcL