IG: Inadequate knowledge of Risk ID requirements may contribute to decreased adherence to suicide risk screening and evaluation. Image: S and S Imaging/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffWhile the VA requires its healthcare providers to be trained on suicide risk and intervention training the training content does not cover an industry-standard process for screening and evaluation, an inspector general report has said.
And although the department does have specific training on that process, called Risk ID, that training is not mandatory and the Veterans Health Administration does not monitor who among its staff has competed it, the report said. “Inadequate knowledge of Risk ID requirements may contribute to decreased adherence to suicide risk screening and evaluation, an underestimation of patients’ suicide risk, and ultimately a failure to facilitate risk mitigation,” it said.
The IG said it found issues including that health care providers who do not specialize in mental health “may be hesitant to screen patients due to discomfort about what to do if the screening is positive. Additionally, more than half of facility staff interviewed shared that staff perceive Risk ID as a responsibility of suicide prevention program staff.”
In addition, staff at 8 of 21 facilities “reported limitations to monitoring Risk ID adherence due to an inability to access patient- or provider-level data” and that overlapping responsibilities among VHA subcomponents over Risk ID “has resulted in failure to identify patients potentially at risk for suicide and provide critical risk mitigation.”
It said that management agreed with recommendations related to suicide risk and intervention training; screening and evaluation benchmarks; Risk ID monitoring, barriers to Risk ID adherence; non-mental health clinical specialty leaders’ awareness of Risk ID requirements; and clear identification of Risk ID monitoring and oversight responsibilities.
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