Will my patient attempt suicide again?
Current Psychiatry. 2008 November;07(11):19-31
November 1, 2008|Current Psychiatry
Author and Disclosure Information
Risk factors help you identify patients who need immediate hospitalization for safety.
Occasionally, patients are not truthful when asked about their suicidal intent. If you suspect a patient is lying, clinical judgment and the patient’s history guide the decision on hospitalization.
Table 3
Hospitalize? 4 questions to guide your decision
| Are you having thoughts of hurting or killing yourself? If yes: What are you thinking/planning to do? |
| Do you have access to lethal means? |
| What is the likelihood that you will hurt yourself? |
| Have you ever done something to hurt yourself (either suicide attempt or self-injurious behavior)? If yes: How many times? |
- Joiner TE. Why people die by suicide. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 2005:46-93,203-22.
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. www.afsp.org.
- SAVE: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. www.save.org.
- Zolpidem • Ambien
The author reports no financial relationship with any company whose products are mentioned in this article or with manufacturers of competing products.
