Primary Care of the Psychiatric Mental Health Client I

SAMHSA's Suicide Prevention App, Suicide Safe, for Health Care Providers Video Transcript

Speaker one: Thanks very much for coming in today. It was good to see you. See you next time.

Speaker two: Behavior health in primary care settings provide unique opportunities to connect one-on-one with a patient. For someone who may be experiencing suicidal ideation or behavior, meeting with their health care provider is a safe setting to participate in a lifesaving assessment.

Research shows that approximately one out of every two people who die by suicide have had contact with a primary care provider in the month prior to their death. One out of every five people has seen a mental health provider in the month prior to their death. One out of every ten people has been seen in an emergency department in the two months prior to their death.

Suicide is preventable. Experts in the field have created research-based tools and resources to help providers confidently care for individuals at risk. As a federal leader in suicide prevention, SAMHSA introduces the free Suicide Safe mobile app, a learning tool for behavioral health and primary care providers. Suicide Safe helps providers integrate suicide prevention strategies into their practice and address suicide risk among patients. The mobile learning tool is based on SAMHSA's Suicide Assessment Five-step Evaluation and Triage, or SAFE-T, card, a nationally recognized tool for suicide assessment developed in conjunction with screening for mental health.

Key features include patient and provider educational materials, SAMHSA's behavioral health treatment services locator, interactive sample cases, and conversation starters. Suicide Safe helps providers learn how to use the SAFE-T approach and includes clinical educational opportunities and support resources for providers and their patients. Access to evidence-based resources, educational opportunities, and SAMHSA publications ensures providers have the most up-to-date relevant information.

To help a patient in need, providers can access a map of nearby behavioral health treatment options, which can be filtered by type and distance. Case studies provide in-depth exploration about risk and protective factors, suicide inquiry, and risk level assessment and intervention. Start the conversation with a patient who may be in need of suicide intervention. Suicide Safe provides sample communication approaches that foster trust and optimize patient outcomes.

Working with screening for mental health and SAMHSA's grantees, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, SAMHSA offers this strategic new tool to support providers in their care of patients. The app is fast to install and easy to use. Simply visit your tablet's app store and search for SAMHSA or click the link for your app store in the description. Suicide Safe, the learning tool that helps providers integrate suicide prevention strategies into their practice and address suicide risk among patients.