Medical Decision Making for Suicidal Patients in Military Integrated Primary Care Settings

Internal behavioral health consultants in primary care settings are on the frontline of suicide risk assessment, management, and treatment within military healthcare. In this capacity, internal behavioral health consultants must quickly determine (a) the patient’s suicide risk level, (b) the treatment setting most suitable for the patient, and (c) brief intervention strategies appropriate to the primary care setting. The decisions required of internal behavioral health consultants by Department of Defense healthcare policies are considered. Two prominent historical methods of medical decision making are reviewed, and these models are applied to the treatment of suicidal patients in military primary care settings.