As a national leader in suicide prevention training, the QPR Institute is pleased to provide its suicide risk reduction program to agencies and institutions. This integrated, systems approach to suicide risk reduction is provided in a licensed, modularized, and exportable format. Our suicide risk detection, assessment and risk management training programs are designed to enhance patient safety while reducing exposure to suicide malpractice and the loss of patients by suicide.

Background
Risk management and loss prevention are critical in today’s healthcare environment. With patient suicide the leading cause of litigation against mental health care professionals, providers must not only offer high quality care, meet regulatory standards and satisfy consumers, but must reduce the known risks associated with fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviors through better identification, assessment and management of those risks.

As the Surgeon General’s 2001 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention specifically calls for enhanced “policies, procedures and evaluation programs,” as well as provider training to assess and manage high-risk consumers, we feel that now is the time to address these areas of practice.

Credentials
Our multidisciplinary team has produced a standardized suicide risk assessment approach and protocol that provides important protections to both consumers and clinical staff. Endorsed by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations as a “best practices” model, and selected by the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force on Patient Safety as an exemplary suicide risk reduction approach, our work has been profiled in several publications, including the Joint Commission’s monograph entitled, Preventing Patient Suicide. A selection of PowerPoint slides from Dr. Quinnett’s presentation to the APA Task Force on Patient Safety are provided here (large file allow a moment to download).

Continuous Quality Improvement
For those organizations electing to install the QPR Institute’s Suicide Risk Reduction Program, and credential staff in the use of the QPRT Suicide Risk Management Inventory (c), we offer a brief CQI tutorial and sample “turn-key” projects for consideration and possible adoption. Both projects can be completed with data generated by the risk reduction program's data requirements. Very simply, data are collected, analyzed and entered into our model CQI report, which can then be edited as needed. Both projects meet the goals and reporting requirements of the Joint Commission where reducing adverse medical events associated with suicidal behaviors is a major focus. Please contact us for project samples and reports.

Evaluation
All QPR Institute training methodologies and clinical tools have been thoroughly tested, peer reviewed and researched. In surveys, 94% of clinical providers believe our assessment tools improve their standard of care. More, 89% of consumers (interviewed with our assessment tools) report high satisfaction with the interviewer’s skill, competence and comfort with the subject of suicide (click here for research summaries). More than 75,000 mental health consumers have been assessed with our protocols, and more than 10,000 mental health professionals have been trained in our assessment methodologies.

Program Installation Steps
Costs, Savings and Potential Revenue
The QPR Institute Suicide Risk Reduction Program Price Schedule
References