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CE article: Suicide risk assessment important part of survey and patient safety*

Nurse Leader Weekly, April 12, 2010

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Identifying patients at risk for suicide has been a requirement of the National Patient Safety Goals since 2007. Since that time, inpatient suicide remains the second most frequently reported sentinel event to The Joint Commission, after wrong-site surgery.

Those patients who arrive at the hospital with a primary diagnosis of an emotional or behavioral disorder must be assessed for their suicide risk, and it’s important to document well that the assessment occurs, Sharon Chaput, RN, C, CSHA, director of regulatory and quality management at the Brattleboro (VT) Retreat, said during a recent HCPro audio conference.

“We all know documentation is critical for risk management and legality issues, but it’s also a communication vehicle, and we want to ensure that all members of the treatment team have a very clear picture of the patient’s risk level,” said Chaput.

Chaput and Tasha Farrar, MD, medical director of outpatient services at the Anna Marsh Clinic, Brattleboro Retreat, spoke on the HCPro program titled “Suicide Risk Assessment: Comply with The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goal and Keep Your Patients Safe.”

Editor’s note: To read the rest of this article, visit “Suicide risk assessment important part of survey and patient safety*” found in the Reading Room at www.StrategiesForNurseManagers.com.

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