# Integrating firearm storage and safety devices into health care

## TL;DR

Firearms are a leading cause of death for US children, and safe storage is critical, but healthcare lacks support for providing these safety measures.

## Contribution

Proposing the creation of DME codes for firearm storage devices to enable insurance coverage and integrate firearm safety into healthcare.

## Key findings

- Firearm-related deaths among youth have doubled in the past decade.
- Only half of homes with firearms secure them, contributing to preventable deaths.
- Establishing DME codes could help healthcare providers promote safe firearm storage.

## Abstract

Millions of US children and adolescents live in homes with loaded firearms, with only half of these homes securing their guns. Firearm-related deaths among youth have doubled over the past decade, making firearms the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States. The recent advisory by the US Surgeon General, identifying firearm violence as a public health crisis, underscores the urgent need for responsible firearm ownership, including safe firearm storage. However, the healthcare community currently lacks durable medical equipment (DME) codes for firearm storage devices, limiting the ability of healthcare providers to support responsible gun ownership. We propose the establishment of DME codes for firearm storage and safety devices, which would facilitate insurance coverage of these vital prevention measures. Durable medical equipment codes would empower physicians and other healthcare providers to integrate anticipatory guidance and lethal means counseling of firearm safety into routine care and support hospital- and community-based efforts to prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths among children and adolescents.