USPSTF: Insufficient Evidence For Suicide Screening In Primary Care Setting

The NPR (5/20, Shute) “Shots” blog reports that “suicide remains a leading cause of death in the United States, especially among teenagers and young adults.” However, “asking everyone who goes to the doctor if he is considering suicide isn’t the answer” to solving the problem, “according to” the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

HealthDay (5/20, Preidt) reports that a final recommendation from the USPSTF published online May 19 in the Annals of Internal Medicine has deemed there is still insufficient “evidence to recommend either for or against patients getting routinely screened for suicide risk by their primary care” physicians. The “ruling applies to when doctors are dealing with teens, adults and older adults without a mental health disorder or symptoms of mental illness.”

Related Links:

— “Task Force Says Asking All Patients About Suicide Won’t Cut Risk,” Nancy Shute, National Public Radio, May 19, 2014.

Posted in In The News.