A new Rx from the doctor: hang up and drive

We're all used to doctors asking us lifestyle-related health questions about drinking, smoking, using drugs or wearing seat belts. But should physicians also inquire about distracted driving?

Absolutely, says Dr. Amy Ship, author of a perspective paper in the Thursday issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The primary care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston makes the case that doctors should counsel patients about the potentially devastating effects of texting or talking on the phone while driving: "...as technology evolves, our questions must be updated in keeping with the risks..." she writes.

In her own practice, Ship says she asks patients about wearing seat belts, then segues into asking about texting while driving. If a patient cops to that, Ship counsels them on the hazards of that behavior. Even if patients only admit to talking on the phone while driving, Ship advises them on the risks they're taking. And though she's handy with statistics, Ship says that telling patients driving while distracted is about the same as driving drunk is often a better way to cut to the chase.

She also asks patients if they could cut down their phone use in the car, or even abstain altogether. She writes, "If patients tell me that occasionally they receive 'important' phone calls they don't want to miss, we discuss what that means in the context of the risks. We talk about alternatives, including pulling over to make or take calls. I remind them that we all managed without mobile phones until recently and encourage them to return to the practices of the pre-cellphone era."

For patients who argue that talking hands-free is OK, Ship counters with this: "...I ask them, 'How would you feel if the surgeon removing your appendix talked on the phone -- hands free, of course -- while operating?' "

We can't argue with Ship, and we wonder if more doctors will take up her call to counsel patients about the dangers of distracted driving. "A question about driving and distraction is as central to the preventive care we provide as the other questions we ask," she writes. "Not to ask -- and not to educate our patients and reduce their risk -- is to place in harm's way those we hope to heal."

-- Jeannine Stein

Photo: Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times

Comments

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QUOTE:
'How would you feel if the surgeon removing your appendix talked on the phone -- hands free, of course -- while operating?"

That sure makes the point very clearly.

Jim Purdy

[Dana]

Doctors don't counsel patients on prevention when there's no profit involved. They might counsel patients on obesity if they can prescribe a drug or surgery. Likewise they might offer a patient bupropion for smoking cessation. Counsel a patient on something that could actually reduce their medical expenditures? Get real. Maybe some of these ivory-tower types could spend some time with actual patients and see what medical practice is like in the real world.

[bjames]

Aren't doctors busy enough dealing with aches, pains, diseases, infections, prescriptions, etc? Why should they go through medical training to dispense common sense? We don't blame a doctor if we stub a toe, but according to the paradigm of this paper, physicians should inquire about the number of sharp corners in our homes and educate us about the risks. Perhaps Amy Ship can write a perspective paper and get published on that issue too.

[Frank]

What's interesting is that all of the research, and all of the experts discuss the effects of using a cellular phone while driving (regardless of whether it is hand held or hands free) - and the conclusion is clear, holding a phone with your hand in no way increases the risks, it is the mental distraction of holding the conversation that is distracting.

Yet the public and politicians seem to think that banning handheld cell phone use will do anything. It makes zero sense to ban handheld and not hands free. If we want to ban the distraction then all cell phone use should be banned, including hands free. But if we as a public don't want to give up the convenience of cellular phones during driving, then we shouldn't ban handheld use, since it has does not improve safety relative to hands free

[Bill Taylor]

They should raise the fine to $1000 for all these morons who drive while on the phone

[Michael Pines]

Our San Diego personal injury law firm is pleased to see that doctors are informing their patients of the dangers associated with distracted driving. The number one top cause of car accidents is distracted driving, which included talking, texting, and Tweeting on your cell phone. Doctors are recognizing that this practice of driving and being on a cell phone is dangerous for their patients’ health and that is a good thing. Hopefully this will start a trend, with more healthcare professionals and experts advising against distracted driving. Perhaps then our roads will be safer as we continue forward in the technological age. –Michael Pines, San Diego Accident Attorney