In Detroit, Michigan, the Henry Ford Health System has instituted a new suicide prevention care program, which aims to reduce the suicide rate to zero through taking on a more proactive approach to depression and self-harm.
The program, which begins with primary care physicians screening every patient, has already led to suicide rates that are well below the national average, more positive patient experiences and consistency and continuity between healthcare providers, as well as significant healthcare savings due to the reductions in ER visits and hospitalizations. Though innovative in their approach, the new initiative is now a model that other communities should be shaping their suicide prevention services after ...
"The plan it developed is intensive and thorough, an almost cookbook approach. Primary care doctors screen every patient with two questions: How often have you felt down in the past two weeks? And how often have you felt little pleasure in doing things? A high score leads to more questions about sleep disturbances, changes in appetite, thoughts of hurting oneself. All patients are questioned on every visit.
If the health providers recognize a mental health problem, patients are assigned to appropriate care — cognitive behavioral therapy, drugs, group counseling, or hospitalization if necessary. On each patient's medical record, providers have to attest to having done the screening, and they record plans for any needed care.
Therapists involve patients' families, and ask them to remove guns or other means of suicide from their homes. Clerks are trained to make sure that patients who need followup care don't leave without an appointment. Patients themselves come up with "safety plans.""
For the full article, click here: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/02/452658644/what-happens-if-you-try-to-prevent-every-single-suicide
The program, which begins with primary care physicians screening every patient, has already led to suicide rates that are well below the national average, more positive patient experiences and consistency and continuity between healthcare providers, as well as significant healthcare savings due to the reductions in ER visits and hospitalizations. Though innovative in their approach, the new initiative is now a model that other communities should be shaping their suicide prevention services after ...
"The plan it developed is intensive and thorough, an almost cookbook approach. Primary care doctors screen every patient with two questions: How often have you felt down in the past two weeks? And how often have you felt little pleasure in doing things? A high score leads to more questions about sleep disturbances, changes in appetite, thoughts of hurting oneself. All patients are questioned on every visit.
If the health providers recognize a mental health problem, patients are assigned to appropriate care — cognitive behavioral therapy, drugs, group counseling, or hospitalization if necessary. On each patient's medical record, providers have to attest to having done the screening, and they record plans for any needed care.
Therapists involve patients' families, and ask them to remove guns or other means of suicide from their homes. Clerks are trained to make sure that patients who need followup care don't leave without an appointment. Patients themselves come up with "safety plans.""
For the full article, click here: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/02/452658644/what-happens-if-you-try-to-prevent-every-single-suicide
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