Health systems work to improve suicide care

Suicide rates are climbing, and health systems and behavioral health centers are redesigning their practices to respond with research-backed interventions. These include screening people for suicide risk, helping patients write safety plans for coping with suicidal feelings, removing lethal means from patients’ homes and providing support in the days following a hospitalization. The new approach emphasizes connecting patients with follow-up care and engaging a crisis team when patients don’t return for treatment. The Joint Commission imposed rules in July requiring hospitals and behavioral health centers to take a more systematic approach to suicide prevention. (TIME story, 10/24/19)