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Shifting the Weight: Addressing Substance Use Disorder in Nursing
Substance use disorder (SUD) impacts both the individual experiencing it and everyone in their life. SUD does not discriminate and affects people from all walks of life, regardless of age, occupation, economic circumstances, ethnic background, or gender. Healthcare professionals are not immune, but...
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Your Electronic Health Record Should Help You Deliver Suicide Care
Many frontline behavioral health teams are expected to deliver suicide-safer care inside systems that were not built to support it. Staff are asked to screen for suicide risk, complete additional assessment when needed, create or update safety plans, coordinate handoffs, complete follow-up, and...
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Bridging the Tech Gap: How Ambient Monitoring Is Modernizing Mental Health Facilities
As a psychiatrist, I’ve witnessed the fragility of patient safety during a psychiatric crisis. As an attorney who’s defended doctors in malpractice cases, I’ve seen the devastation when safety protocols fail. If I’ve learned one truth from my dual careers, it’s that, in behavioral health,...
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Improving Safety with Technologies in Maternal Mental Health
Maternal mental health is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of family well-being and a critical area for innovation in modern healthcare. Each year, thousands of women experience perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), including postpartum depression, anxiety, and postpartum psychosis....
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When the Unexpected Happens: The Importance of Policies and Procedures
Providing specialized consultation in the field of addiction treatment risk management is an essential function of our organization. We see firsthand that providers supporting the treatment and recovery of substance use play a critical role in maintaining the safety of each individual seeking care...
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Suicide Prevention as a Core Responsibility
Every year more than 40,000 Americans die from suicide and suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States (CDC, 2016). Over eighty percent of people who die from suicide have contact with health and behavioral health care providers in the year prior to their death and almost half...
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Zero Suicide: Working Together to Save Lives
The death of Robin Williams in 2014 was an event that stunned the nation. He was a beloved man who brought laughter to so many people’s lives. His suicide stirred emotions in people as they pondered a myriad of questions. How could someone who had such a full life want to kill himself?” ...
