Primary Care Provider Toolkit Guide - Suicide Prevention Integration

Aug 31, 2026

Primary Care Provider Toolkit Guide provides practical resources to integrate suicide prevention practices into primary care. It organizes training options, screening and assessment tools, billing guidance, and risk management supports to improve clinician confidence and competence. The toolkit includes validated instruments for suicide and depression screening, decision aids for managing risk, telehealth considerations, safety planning interventions, and patient education materials, including means-safety resources and community tools.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatDOCX

Pages4

Reading Time2 min

AccessFree to download

Training

Suicide Prevention Trainings

Screening and Assessments

Risk Management and Reduction

Safety Planning Intervention

Reducing Access to Lethal Means

Primary Care Provider Toolkit Guide Did you know that 64% of people who attempt suicide visited their doctor during the month prior to their attempt? This guide was developed to support the integration of suicide prevention practices into primary care. Access training, screeners, assessments, and other risk mitigation tools to feel confident and competent to address suicide risk among your patients. Each of the section headers correspond to a folder included in the toolkit. Training Suicide Prevention Trainings This document provides information on various online suicide prevention trainings for healthcare providers. Many of these trainings address suicide risk assessment as well as safety planning and counseling on access to lethal means. Free options are available as well as paid trainings. CME credits are available for some training offerings. Zero Suicide Training Document This document developed by Zero Suicide details both in-person and online suicide prevention training options for a variety of audiences. Screening and Assessments Billing for Suicide Risk Assessment This document provides information on billing codes to use for administering and scoring suicide risk assessments and screeners. Suicide Screening and Assessment This document developed by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center details the differences between suicide screening and assessment. Ask-Suicide Screening Questions (ASQ) The ASQ is a validated suicide risk screening tool for use in medical settings developed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The ASQ is free and available in the public domain. A toolkit for using the ASQ in primary care settings is available online and within this toolkit. The ASQ is available in numerous languages. Toolkits, research, and additional versions of the screener can be found on the HYPERLINK "https://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-conducted-at-nimh/asq-toolkit-materials/index.shtml" NIMH website. Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) The PHQ and PHQ-9 are validated screeners to assess for depressive symptoms among patients. Both screeners are available for free. Additional versions in different languages are available on the HYPERLINK "https://www.phqscreeners.com/" website. The PHQ, PHQ-9, and instruction manual are available in this toolkit as well as online. The instruction manual provides helpful information for administering and interpreting the screeners as well as treatment recommendations. Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Developed by the Columbia Lighthouse Project, the C-SSRS is a validated suicide risk assessment that is free and available in the public domain on this HYPERLINK "https://cssrs.columbia.edu/" website. The C-SSRS has several versions for different populations and settings, including primary care. This toolkit includes the primary care version of the C-SSRS with a triage tool built in as well as the C-SSRS with the SAFE-T. Risk Management and Reduction Managing Suicide Risk via Telehealth This document provides practical considerations for the management of suicide risk while conducting telehealth visits. Suicide Risk Decision-Making Tree This flow chart is a quick guide based on the C-SSRS with SAFE-T. The document visualizes recommendations for managing suicide risk based on the risk determination of the patient. This guide is not intended to replace conducting a comprehensive suicide risk assessment. ICARE: The American College of Emergency Physicians created a tool for managing suicidal patients in the emergency department. The tool is available HYPERLINK "https://www.acep.org/iCar2e" online or via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Safety Planning Intervention The safety planning intervention is an evidence-based strategy to help address suicide risk and provide the patient with strategies to effectively cope with a crisis. The toolkit includes a safety planning quick guide for clinicians. Brow

FAQs

What is the purpose of the Primary Care Provider Toolkit Guide?

It supports integrating suicide prevention practices into primary care by providing training options, screening and assessment tools, and risk mitigation resources.

Which tools are included for suicide screening and assessment?

The toolkit includes ASQ, PHQ and PHQ-9 for depression, and C-SSRS for suicide risk assessment, including primary care-focused versions.

How does the toolkit help clinicians manage suicide risk and create safety plans?

It provides practical telehealth considerations, a decision-making tree based on C-SSRS with SAFE-T, and evidence-based safety planning interventions with clinician quick guides and templates.

Aug 31, 2026

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