Now required to ask patients of suicidal thoughts??

Ok, so i went into the local ambulatory care center here in Delphos, Ohio today. Basicly for those who dont know, these are basicly small ER's for smaller communities. Anyway I was going for wrist pain and as normal i got the usual questions from the nurse, where does it hurt, how long has it been this way etc. but then she asked me something that took me by surprise. She asked if im having suicidal thoughts. I instantly gave her a confused face and said a strong "no." I then asked her why she asked me that and she told me that they are now required to ask all patients.

I dont know about you guys but that sends off a red flag for me. Answering yes to that one question has deep and lifelong lasting repercutions. And my question is if anyone knows why they are doing this??

Seems ripe for abuse and with the gun control advocates out there aswering yes to that question means you cannot buy or use a firearm. This just seems like big govt trying to overstep and i wanted some opinions.

For as long as I can remember they have asked that in the ER's around Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Maybe it is some Govt led IllumniatiHAARPCIA op to remove guns.
Just as easy for it to be a clinician trying to triage and get all the facts about a scenario.

I go into an ER, ouch my wrist hurts. The clinician asks have you ever had suicidal thoughts, "Yes I actually was trying to hang myself and the rope broke and i fell on my wrist"

The mere act of asking if you have suicidal thoughts, in an ER\ACC\SPEC CARE center does not scream anything to me other than information gathering to assess a situation.

reply to post by Sway33


Since DC is violating HIPAA anyway, using this information against you (gun control, home-schooling, applying for credit, long-term treatment via Obamacare)

I see it ending badly because people who really need help along those lines might lie in order to avoid government interference.

I went to our ER a couple of weeks ago when I knocked my back out of joint (ouch!)

The intake nurse asked me the same question. I didn't think much of it, my guess is they're worried about someone going berserk in the ER.

Having said that, I once checked myself into an ER because I WAS suicidal. I walked up to the receptionist and told her I wanted to die. Two minutes later a policeman/security guard escorted me to a small room with a table and chair. I remained in that room for about two hours, with the policeman outside the door, while they readied a room for me.

Interestingly enough, before I could take my son home from the hospital after his birth, the doc asked me if I had any urges to hurt myself or my child. Thanks, Susan Smith.

reply to post by Sway33


I wouldn't worry about it too much just a standard question, the nurse probably has a standard list of questions to ask patients.

Asking if you have suicidal thought when getting pain meds seems actually quite recessional, the nurse doesn't know you form Adam. For all he/she knows the nurse could be about to give over dangerous med's someone who does have suicidal thoughts and who has tried to kill him/herself in the past multiple times.

death by paracetamol is not a nice way to go.

I really don't see why this is a problem

reply to post by Sway33
I would love to be a "fly on the wall" to hear some of the comical answers that some people give to such a question. When I took one of my daughters to the ER in February they asked her if she felt suicidal. Her answer was "Before I let you near me with that thermometer I want to know if YOU feel suicidal!" That was the end of it!

reply to post by Sway33


I got a lot of family in the medical community...

Another question they ask now is... "do you feel safe in your home?"

I was told that statistics show that a lot of people who show up at the ER are looking for someplace safe.

I said, "really?"

That was responded to by, "you have no idea".

Kinda scary.

Any doctor worthy of being called a doctor should ask this question. Before prescribing medication, it is important to know if someone has suicidal thoughts, as some medications may amplify the problem and potentially escalate the thoughts into actions. This is no different than a doctor asking if you are allergic to anything or if you are currently taking any other medications. Doctors should also be asking about your diet and overall fitness at every visit. If your doctor is not asking these types of questions, then you should find a new doctor because the one you are seeing probably doesn't care about you any further than what you provide them financially.

Many many years ago I was in the ER for something that was so astronomically stupid that they sent a counselor type person in to ask if I was suicidal or unhappy.

At the time I had no idea why this person was there asking these questions. It wasnt until much later I realized that they thought I may have been trying to kill myself.

I thought that was funny more than anything.

What got my blood boiling however was the $500 charge for "consultation with therapist" that I never asked for.

Well this is a new policy, because I was there a month ago and nothing, plus the fact that she told me 'now' we have to ask this. I know this doesn't sound like a scary thing but it can be and many people have paid for the mistake of answering YES for minor depression reasons etc. heck you could be a drunk they just brought in and being a funny man you answer hell yea. Fact is that it used to be you had to approach a doctor and let him/her know you are depressed, at that point they would ask about suicidal thoughts.

When you are deemed a suicidal person or suicide risk, you are essentially stripped of many rights. From the governments point of view they would want as many people on this list as they can get. Crazy people are the new homegrown terrorists and its my assumption that in the future they will be treated as potential terrorists.

Our ability to profile terrorists now centers around them being muslim which is traceable and easy to figure out who is and who is not muslim. Crazy people or 'potential' domestic terrorists have no criteria that is traceable, there is no way to profile these people really until you put them all on a list. I have a feeling this list will consist of people deemed threats to themselves.

This is why I see the larger problem in asking every single person this question because they 'have' to. Its a way to profile, plan and simple.

Originally posted by littled16
reply to post by Sway33

 

I would love to be a "fly on the wall" to hear some of the comical answers that some people give to such a question. When I took one of my daughters to the ER in February they asked her if she felt suicidal. Her answer was "Before I let you near me with that thermometer I want to know if YOU feel suicidal!" That was the end of it!

When I was younger I went to the hospital to be admitted for surgery. My parents were with me when the nurse asked the standard intake questions. Since this was a Baptist hospital, the nurse asked if I needed anything special for practicing my religious beliefs.

I told her all I needed was a couple of rattlesnakes and some strychnine.

Poor nurse. She thought I was serious.

reply to post by smyleegrl

I told her all I needed was a couple of rattlesnakes and some strychnine.

Now that has to be the most interesting (and funny) thing I will probably read or hear today!

reply to post by littled16

I would love to be a "fly on the wall" to hear some of the comical answers that some people give to such a question

you would be amazed at how honest people can be.

this is a true story, I am not making this up

me: So what has brought you into the emergency department today.

Patient: errrr welll..... ummmm..... its kinda... errrr. well.... embarrassing

me:its ok we don't judge let me know whats wrong and we will see what we can do.

patient: ok well errr, last night I was out with my mates and got drunk, I had loads to drink at they pinned me down and put a pencil up my penis.

Me: how did they manage that? (silly question i know)

Patient: well they put it inside my penis and i tried to get it out but its stuck and now i cant pee.

me: just excuse me for a moment and i will get a doctor to have a look.

that had me laughing for weeks, really some of the stories that i could tell about the wired stuff people have said to me.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
.

I told her all I needed was a couple of rattlesnakes and some strychnine.

Poor nurse. She thought I was serious.

Lmao...

Oh, God... that one almost killed me.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin
That one is funny!
Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction. It almost sounds like it ought to be a scene in a comedy movie. I've heard many amusing stories of ER visits (my dearest friend works at a local hospital). Some of the stories are outrageous!

reply to post by Sway33

I dont know about you guys but that sends off a red flag for me. Answering yes to that one question has deep and lifelong lasting repercutions. And my question is if anyone knows why they are doing this??

This is a standard question used in mental health clinics. People who are service providers like medicine, as well as teachers, are "MANDATED REPORTERS." They are bound by law to report to the authorities if a person is a danger to self or others, or if they suspect abuse or neglect.

This mandate overrides confidentiality, and most providers tell you up front. Most states have their own laws regarding who is a m.r. and who isn't. Lawyers and clergy are presently not mandated. The M.R. can be held liable if you tell them you are suicidal or homicidal and they don't report it - in some cases they'll ask the client to sign a statement that they 'won't do this' in between sessions. In others, after an 'intake interview', the practitioner makes an assessment of risk based on standardized training and criteria.

A person who is clearly a danger to themselves or others is subject to being 'committed to institutional care' against their will. This is usually a 72-hour period for observation and deescalation of crisis-mode thinking.

The mental health in-patient system via emergency service is largely restricted to those who express ideation (thoughts of) suicide or homicide. In other words, the person is to be taken seriously. One can self-report and be committed, where if they try to call the inpatient facility to check themselves in it's handled differently.

In many cases, suicidal clients are telling someone who is a professional their intent in order to get help.

It's to keep people from offing themselves or other people. It's NOT "thought police" or some conspiracy to take your rights away...

reply to post by littled16


yeah i dont work their anymore, I am actually thinking about getting out of nursing just now but yeah, some very very funny stories i have a similar one told to me by one of my colleagues about a man who "slipped in the bath and got a can of antiperspirant stuck up his anus" but even though it was a honest "accident" he asked my mate to inform his wife that he had really bad piles.

my friend when telling this story finishes by saying "it would be more believable if antiperspirant was packaged in a condom".

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


How did they got it out?

And please share more funny stories, love 'em....

reply to post by smyleegrl


he needed surgery, if my memory serves they discovered that it was a small bookies pencil and it had became stuck at the opening to his badder. I have not worked in urology so i don't know exactly how they got it out once he was sent up to surgery i never heard much about him again.

Originally posted by LeatherNLace
Any doctor worthy of being called a doctor should ask this question. Before prescribing medication, it is important to know if someone has suicidal thoughts, as some medications may amplify the problem and potentially escalate the thoughts into actions. This is no different than a doctor asking if you are allergic to anything or if you are currently taking any other medications. Doctors should also be asking about your diet and overall fitness at every visit. If your doctor is not asking these types of questions, then you should find a new doctor because the one you are seeing probably doesn't care about you any further than what you provide them financially.

I agree with you to a degree. However, documenting a mental instability is life long, even if you get better and never again have a suicidal thought you will always be labeled a suicide risk or at very minimum mentally unstable. There are very few medications that interact in such a way to cause suicidal thoughts and before you are prescribed those medications a complete mental history is done along with regular follow ups. This is not a question that needs to be answered on every doctors visit with every patient.

What if I refused to answer because its my right? Guarantee they would not stop treating me, but I do guarantee that they would answer the question for you. The implications of a yes answer is what makes this question very disturbing. Personally I would never answer yes to this question even if I was having thoughts, and im sure there are many people with me that would do the exact same thing.

Your mental health will be used against you for your entire life. Every background check, every police contact made. The question is not a private one, it will never be between only you and your doctor. That is the problem.