The transition from inpatient to outpatient behavioral health care is a critical time for patients with a history of suicide risk—as well as for the health care systems and providers who serve them. According to research, in the month after patients leave inpatient psychiatric care, their suicide death rate is 300 times higher in the first week and 200 times higher in the first month than the general population, but nearly a third of them do not make it to outpatient care in this time frame.

To help health systems and providers close these gaps in care, improve patient experience and outcomes, and prevent suicide deaths, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s (Action Alliance) Care Transitions Advisory Group—comprised of health care and suicide prevention experts—developed Best Practices in Care Transitions for Individuals with Suicide Risk: Inpatient Care to Outpatient Care.

The report, designed to build on the Action Alliance’s Recommended Standard Care for People with Suicide Risk and The Way Forward: Pathways to Hope, Recovery, and Wellness with Insights from Lived Experience, presents feasible, evidence-based practices that health systems and providers can take to improve patient engagement and safety during the transition from inpatient to outpatient care. This report aims to help improve and strengthen patient care and ensure that people at risk for suicide receive high-quality, evidence-based, continuous care that supports connection and recovery—and ultimately saves lives.

“We are committed to working with the Action Alliance to strengthen our country’s clinical capacity and provide innovative suicide prevention care,” said Karen Johnson, senior vice president of clinical services and division compliance officer for the behavioral health division, Universal Health Services and Executive Committee member, Action Alliance. “It is my hope that this report helps to bridge the gap and strengthen the connectedness among inpatient and outpatient organizations so, together, we can build a seamless continuum of care that can save lives.”

The report aims to advance two key goals of the Action Alliance’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention—Goal 8: promote suicide prevention as a core component of health care, and Goal 9: promote and implement effective clinical and professional practices for assessing and treating those identified as being at risk for suicidal behaviors.

For more information about the report, including a complementary video and handout, or to learn more about the Action Alliance’s care transitions efforts, go to: SuicideCareTransitions.org