Question
Why is suicide screening in primary care important?
Answer
Why do we need to screen for suicide in primary care? To identify and outline the problem, globally, there are over 703,000 people that die by suicide each year, which is a staggering number. Currently, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States. It is typically the 10th leading cause of death. I believe it moved down the list because of COVID. To put this into perspective per the CDC, 43% of adults with a diagnosed mental health condition did not receive mental health services within the past year.
Many individuals who die by suicide have actually been to primary care within the last month, particularly older adults. So, think about your elderly population, and how frequently they are in with the doctor. Primary care is the anchor to specialty care. Typically if you need to go to a specialist, you have to go to your primary care doctor first. They are getting eyes on that patient first, before they go to lets say a psychiatrist or a neurologist or wherever. Therefore, primary care provides a really important opportunity to screen for suicide.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the webinar, Suicide in Primary Care: Screening, Assessment, and Intervention, presented by Lauren Dennelly, MSW, LCSW
