Behavioral health providers commonly fell short on Joint Commission safety standards to prevent suicide in 2023.
On April 3, the organization published a list of the standards with which providers most frequently failed to comply.
Here are the five most challenging standards for behavioral health providers:
- Following written policies and procedures addressing the care of individuals served identified as at risk for suicide. These include training for staff caring for individuals at risk of suicide, monitoring guidelines and creating guidelines for reassessment.
- Conducting environmental risk assessment that identifies features in the physical environment that could be used to attempt suicide, and taking action to minimize risks.
- Screening all individuals for suicidal ideation.
- Conducting initial assessments of staff competence.
- Documenting individuals overall risk for suicide and plan to mitigate the risk for suicide.
Conducting assessments of staff competence was not among the biggest challenges in 2022.
A study from The Joint Commission published in March found hospitals are implementing all the recommended components of suicide prevention planning for post-discharge patients.