Updating the Electronic Health Record (EHR) to Prioritize, Identify, and Treat Suicidal Thoughts and Provide Next-day Suicide Interventions
CAMS-care announced today ongoing partnerships with six top healthcare leaders — Epic Systems, Netsmart Technologies, inSync, Psyquel, bhworks, and NeuroFlow — to include the Suicide Status Form (SSF) in their platforms and client records as a multipurpose tool to better assess and treat suicidal thoughts.
This news comes in the wake of the July 16th launch of “988” — the FCC designated suicide crisis helpline — to meet the increased demand for mental health and suicide treatment and prevention in the U.S.
“We are excited that these leaders in behavioral health see the benefits of building evidence-based, suicide-focused assessment and treatment directly into the client’s medical records,” says Andrew Evans, CAMS-care President and COO. “There are over 30,000 clinicians trained in the CAMS Framework and the Suicide Status Form. Increasing access to treatment by these providers will save lives through effective care.”
The inclusion of the Suicide Status Form (SSF) into these six Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and Health Management platforms is a major step forward for CAMS-care’s mission to integrate evidence-based suicide-focused treatment methodology directly into a patient’s medical record so that every clinician within these systems has access to a simple and evidence-based tool to assess and treat suicidal thoughts within this high risk patient population.
And that need is quickly being felt as 988 rolls out across the country.
In 2021, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (now “988”) received 3.6 million calls, chats, and texts. SAMHSA expects that number to double within the first full year after the 988 transition, providing access to an emergency crisis hotline for millions. According to Vibrant Emotional Health, call volumes to 988 are up 45% compared to the week before 988 went live and 66% compared to the same time in 2021.
The biggest hurdle for effective suicide-focused treatment and prevention in the US isn’t a lack of effective patient treatment models or even increasing demand — it’s adoption of clinically-proven treatments combined with rapid access to evidence-based care. Providing the SSF, the key multipurpose tool in the CAMS FrameworkⓇ, as part of the Electronic Health Record facilitates the use of lifesaving suicide interventions. Organizations like The Hope Institute offer Next Day Appointment, stabilizing clients in an average of 6 weeks in outpatient settings, while also avoiding the trauma of EDs and hospitalization.
The launch of the dedicated “988” mental health and suicide prevention helpline, and the inclusion of the SSF into the patients electronic medical records are already revolutionizing how individuals living with suicidal thoughts connect to life-saving resources across the U.S. CAMS-care will continue to work with partners to make crisis care and clinical stabilization more accessible to those in need as 988 increasingly makes mental health a more urgent priority.
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