Physicians now have access to a new digital resource hub with tools to help them prevent firearm injuries.
The hub was developed by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Ad Council, a nonprofit focused on social impact campaigns.
It includes content from the AMA and other medical associations, health systems, academic institutions, medical journals and nonprofits. Users can select tools by clinical specialty and by risk area. Some content offered includes an opportunity to earn continuing education credits.
The hub is a product of the AMA Firearm Injury Prevention task force, launched in 2023 with representation from more than a dozen national medical specialty societies, as well as part of the Ad Council’s "Agree to Agree" campaign. The campaign launched in early 2025 to encourage healthcare professionals to talk to patients about the issue in a supportive way.
“In cities and towns—rural and urban—physicians treat patients and families afflicted by firearm injuries every day. To help reduce injuries and deaths, we must focus on prevention,” Toluwalase A. Ajayi, M.D., AMA board chair-elect and AMA Firearm Injury Prevention task force co-chair, said in an announcement. “We encourage physicians to include questions about firearm ownership and secure storage practices as part of routine patient care and child well visits, just as we ask about pool safety and car safety seats. Doing so will normalize conversations on this topic and save lives.”
KFF has found that 86% of adults say they’ve never been asked by a physician whether there are firearms in the home. Yet research suggests patients are much more likely to adopt safe storage practices when educated on them.
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What gun violence costs US healthcare: $1B in initial ER costs, hefty medical bills for patients
Firearm injuries have been the leading cause of death in kids and teens in the U.S. since 2020. Tens of thousands of Americans died of firearm-related injuries annually throughout the 2010s. Between 2016 and 2017, Kaiser Permanente clinicians treated more than 11,000 victims of gunshot wounds. The AMA called gun violence a public health crisis in 2016.
In 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence a public health crisis. He called on policymakers to consider gun safety measures and urged a “significant increase” in funding for research on gun injuries and deaths. He also called for expanded access to mental healthcare and trauma-informed resources for survivors of firearm violence.
There are significant healthcare costs associated with gun violence. A 2023 Commonwealth Fund analysis found that compared to 13 other high-income countries, the U.S. had the highest overall rate of firearm deaths.
“Each year in the U.S., firearm-related injuries lead to roughly 30,000 inpatient hospital stays and 50,000 emergency room visits, generating more than $1 billion in initial medical costs,” the Commonwealth report's authors wrote. “In 2020 alone, deaths from these injuries cost $290 million, an average of $6,400 per patient. Medicaid and other public insurance programs absorbed most of these costs.”