Implementing Suicide Screening in VHA Settings Can Help Identify Veterans at Risk

When incorporated into Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical settings, a population-level, suicide-risk screening may help identify veterans at risk of suicide who may not be receiving mental health treatment, according to astudy published inJAMA Network Open.“Emerging evidence suggests that suicide risk screening in AC [ambulatory care] and ED [emergency department] or UCC [urgent care center] settings may provide critical opportunities to identify risk among patients who are not receiving or seeking mental health treatment,” wrote Nazanin Bahraini, Ph.D., of the Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Aurora, Colo., and colleagues. “Although the feasibility and utility of screening in the ED or UCC setting and medical settings [have] been demonstrated in community hospitals, it has yet to be examined in the VHA, the count ry’s largest integrated health care system.”The researchers analyzed data from the VA Suicide Risk Identification Strategy (Risk ID), a screening and evaluation process that includes three stages: the primary screen (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), the secondary screen (Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale Screener), and the VHA ’s Comprehensive Suicide Risk Evaluation. Individuals who screen positive at one level move into the next level of screening or evaluation.Risk ID was implemented throughout all VHA facilities from 2018 to 2019. Patients were screened in ambulatory care settings if they had at least one outp...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: access to care and Treatment Act Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act screening suicidal ideation suicidal plan suicide Veterans Comprehensive Prevention VHA Source Type: research