Does Screening Patients for Domestic Violence Help or Hurt Victims? A New Study says Helps!

As you've seen on this blog before (01/24/2012), it is important for doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to screen patients for domestic violence.  This recommendation has garnered attention due to a new report, published May 7th, and brought to national attention in U.S. News and World Report's blog.  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force reviewed recent studies and found that screening patients did not harm victims of domestic violence.  A few of the studies reviewed focused on pregnant women, providing them with counseling before and after they gave birth.  The paticipants who received therapy experience less violence during and after birth and had healthier babies. 


The Task Force will continue to review studies and possibly change their recommendations, which were last changed in 2004.  Several organizations already support screening for domestic violence, and your doctor may already be talking to you about it.  Review author Dr. Heidi Nelson, a clinical epidemiologist at the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center in Portland, stated that "the task force recommendations are not mandates, but often a strong recommendation by the task force leads to a standard of care and insurance coverage."


As of August 2012, the Affordable Care Act will require that insurance covers domestic violence screening every year, as well as counseling, as part of preventive health services.