Principles of suicide risk assessment

PREVIEW

Suicide is a significant cause of death in the United States. Because many patients who commit suicide visit their primary care physician in the weeks before their death, physicians need to be familiar with suicide risk assessment techniques. In this article, Drs Frierson, Melikian, and Wadman discuss the demographics and risk factors of suicide and propose a methodical, practical approach to assessing and managing suicide risk in depressed patients.