The Patient Safety Screener (PSS-3): A Brief Tool to Detect Suicide Risk in Acute Care Settings

This seven-minute video describes the Patient Safety Screener (PSS-3), a tool for identifying patients in the acute care setting who may be at risk of suicide. The PSS-3 can be administered to all patients who come to the acute care setting—not just those presenting with psychiatric issues.

Accompanying Materials

These resources will help you administer the PSS-3; plan for patients who screen positive; and implement screening sustainably and to a high standard. All resources are from the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass Medical) except for the five SPRC resources relating to patient suicide care management plans mentioned in the video.*

PSS-3 Guidance

• PSS-3 Screener and Tip Sheet (UMass Medical)
• PSS-3 Pocket Card (UMass Medical)

PSS-3 Training Materials

• PSS-3 Implementation Scenarios (UMass Medical)
• Screening for Suicide Risk training support presentation (UMass Medical)

Establishing Patient Suicide Care Management Plans

• Suicide Care Management Plans information sheet (UMass Medical)
• Caring for Adult Patients with Suicide Risk: A Consensus Guide for Emergency Departments — This guide helps emergency department (ED) professionals establish patient suicide care management plans that include screening, comprehensive suicide risk assessment, brief intervention, discharge planning, and referral and follow-up procedures.
• Preventing Suicide in Emergency Department Patients — This online course teaches emergency department professionals how to implement key components of a patient suicide care management plan like screening, suicide risk assessment, and brief interventions such as safety planning and lethal means counseling.
• How Emergency Departments Can Help Prevent Suicide among At-Risk Patients: Five Brief Interventions — This nine-minute video focuses on five emergency department-based brief interventions that can be used with patients who are awaiting inpatient admission and especially with patients who will be discharged from the ED.
• Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Primary Care Practices — This toolkit contains tools, information, and resources to implement state-of-the art suicide prevention practices that address barriers to treating suicidal patients in the primary care setting.
• Zero Suicide website — This website provides information, resources, and tools for implementing Zero Suicide, which includes establishing policies and procedures that define how patients at risk for suicide will receive seamless care that specifically addresses suicide.

Implementing and Sustaining Universal Screening

• Implementing Universal Screening for Suicide information sheet (UMass Medical)
• Ensuring the Quality of Suicide Screening information sheet with scenarios (UMass Medical)
   

*Except for the list of SPRC resources relating to patient suicide care management plans mentioned in the video, these materials are derived from several projects involving a variety of collaborators and funders. These projects include the National Institute of Mental health-funded ED-SAFE (U01MH088278), ED-SAFE 2 (R01MH106726), and System of Safety (R01MH112138).

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health.

For more information, contact Edwin Boudreaux.