Approaching the suicidal patient.
The suicide of a patient can be devastating to the family and to the family physician. The patient's death may shake the physician's confidence, undermine any willingness to work with patients with a mental illness, and provoke professional and legal review. In an attempt to help the family physician prevent suicide, this article reviews known risk factors and offers a strategy for assessing these factors in individual patients. The authors outline interventions that fit the existing level of risk and provide suggestions for the physician in the event of a completed suicide.
Stovall
Jeffrey
J
Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, USA. jstovall@communityhealthlink.org
Domino
Frank J
FJ
D003419:Crisis Intervention; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D000092864:Suicide Prevention