Implementing Suicide Risk Screening in a Virtual Addiction Clinic

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Addiction Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Substance use disorders (SUD) are frequently comorbid with mental health conditions, including suicidal ideation.
• Virtual addiction clinics offer accessible care but require adapted screening protocols for mental health risks.
• Effective suicide risk screening is crucial for identifying and managing high-risk individuals within SUD treatment settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of integrating suicide risk screening into a virtual addiction clinic.
• To assess the clinical utility of suicide risk screening data in a telehealth-based SUD population.
• To determine the prevalence and nature of positive suicide risk screens in this demographic.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement framework was employed to implement universal suicide risk screening.
• All eligible patients (N=252) within a virtual addiction clinic were screened.
• Screening data, including demographic information and risk factors, were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• One hundred percent of eligible patients (252/252) were screened, with 8% (19/252) screening positive for suicide risk.
• No patients required emergency suicide interventions, indicating non-acute positive screens (100% non-acute positive).
• A significant majority of positive screens (74%, 14/19) were based on a history of suicide attempts without recent ideation.

Conclusions:

• Suicide risk screening is feasible and clinically informative in virtual addiction clinics serving individuals with SUD.
• Screening effectively identifies individuals with a history of suicide attempts, enabling targeted mental healthcare.
• The findings suggest that focusing on suicide attempt history can guide clinical interventions without overwhelming emergency services in virtual settings.