More and more, primary care doctors routinely ask patients a question that may come as a surprise: Do you ever have suicidal thoughts?

Now, new research shows it's a simple intervention that can save lives.

When suicide care was made a routine part of primary care visits at Kaiser Permanente clinics in Washington state, suicide attempts dropped 25% in the next 90 days, the study found.

Published Oct. 1 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the research is the first to show that suicide risk screening in primary care, followed by safety planning, improved prevention efforts in a health care setting.

"Our findings are important because we know many people seek primary care prior to fatal and nonfatal suicide attempts," said lead study author Julie Angerhofer Richards, a collaborative scientist at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. 

The study relied on data from January 2015 to July 2018.

"Many healthcare systems in the U.S. and abroad now routinely ask patients about suicidal thoughts, and this study provides evidence to support this practice, in combination with collaborative safety planning among people identified at risk of suicide attempt," Richards said in a Kaiser Permanente news release.

Kaiser Permanente clinics began using the integrated care model in January 2016 with all adult patients, who completed a screening questionnaire. Those who said they often thought about self-harm were screened for suicide risk and referred for safety planning if they were deemed to be at high risk.

After the program went into effect, nonfatal suicide attempts and suicide deaths dropped 25%, the study found.

In addition, more patients were evaluated for suicide risk, depression and drug and alcohol use, the study found. 

The National Institute of Mental Health funded the study.

More information

If you or a loved one is in mental health crisis, free, anonymous counseling is at hand 24/7 at the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.