Safety planning by peers is feasible and acceptable to patients, might result in decreased ED visits, and may represent a way of implementing safety plans in rural EDs.
UMMS suicide prevention study explores telehealth to improve outcomes, efficiency By Susan E.W. Spencer January 21, 2021
A UMass Medical School researcher is leading a new study to evaluate the use of telehealth to improve suicide-related outcomes.
The four-year, $4.4 million National Institute of Mental Health effectiveness-implementation trial, called Telehealth to Improve Prevention of Suicide (TIPS) in emergency departments, focuses on interventions in community or rural hospitals. But these protocols could also be used in any emergency care setting, especially those without readily available mental health specialists.
Edwin Boudreaux, PhD
“Part of the foundation of this work is the observation that most emergency departments don’t really have enough behavioral health clinicians to adequately staff the department at all times,” said principal investigator Edwin Boudreaux, PhD, professor of emergency medicine.