I just received this e-mail and I am wondering if there is any truth to it at all. Snopes has no info says it's under investigation, but that posting was from June -

"I had a doctors appointment at the local VA clinic yesterday and found something very interesting I would like to pass along.. While going through triage before seeing the doctor, I was asked at the end of the exam, three
questions.

(1. Did I feel stressed?)
(2. Did I feel threatened?)
(3. Did I feel like doing harm to someone?) The nurse then informed me, if I had answered yes to any of the questions, I would have lost my concealed carry permit as it would have gone into my medical
records and the VA would have reported it to Homeland Security.

I am a Viet Nam vet and 15 year cc permit holder. Looks like they are going
after us vets." Be forewarned and be aware. The Obama administration has gone on record as considering veterans and gun owners as potential terrorists. If you are a
veteran, you've been warned. If you know veterans, please pass this on to them.

If a screening nurse at the VA were to tell me I would lose my permit to carry because I answered their questions wrong, I would have to investigate how they knew. I never tell the VA or other health care, it's none of their business.

My experiences with the VA have been generally positive. However, occasionally I have had to remind them that "I" am the patient and "I'LL" let them know what test, forms, etc I'll tolerate and which I won't.

And for those few individuals there (very few) who still don't get the message, a quick wave of the hand and a hearty 'you're dismissed!' always does the trick!

The V.A. and other hospitals do ask general questions like this on their intake forms. You could answer yes to all of these questions, and all that would happen initially is that a doctor or physiologist would investigate the matter.

It's very true that your concealed carry permit could be revoked if you have made a threat against someone else. Medical professionals have a duty to warn or protect third parties.

I believe this one was already tackled in the Strategy area. I think the general conclusion was that this was not actually true, pending further evidence.

Actually HIPPA prevents them from divulging any patient info without that patients written consent. And that's enforced even for the government, subject to heavy penalties. Or so smarter people than me have told me.

That's not true from what I understand:

Records of psychological treatment have always been considered confidential information. Even before HIPAA, psychologists were both legally and ethically obligated to protect patient confidentiality. What HIPAA has done is to establish national standards providing special protection for psychotherapy notes. For example, an insurer may not require release of psychotherapy notes as a condition of payment. Of course, even under HIPAA psychologists remain obligated by law to release certain specific information, such as a revelation of child abuse or a threat of harm to self or others.

The rule I generally follow is that I do not disclose information that is not medically relevant. I prefer to run my life myself and when I visit a medical professional it is to seek assistance with medical matters, not "life management."

The doctor is not a priest and the clinic is not a confessional.