As faculty at the Sydney, Australia third Zero Suicide International summit in early 2017, Dr. Brian Ahmedani talked about the outcomes of the Henry Ford Health System, and charted a course for taking evaluation to an entirely new level.
Later the same year, Dr. Ahmedani initiated a five year study funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to perform a large and national evaluation of the Zero Suicide in Healthcare model.
The description of “An Evaluation of the National Zero Suicide Model Across Learning Healthcare Systems” by Ahmedani and Dr. Gregory Simon includes the following:
The proposed study seeks to conduct a comprehensive process and outcome evaluation of the National Zero Suicide Model (NZSM) implementation in real-world clinical settings across 6 large, diverse Mental Health Research Network affiliated Learning Healthcare Systems providing healthcare for over 9 million individuals each year. The project aims are to:
- Collaborate with health system leaders to develop EHR metrics to measure specific quality improvement targets and care processes tailored to local NZSM implementation,
- Examine the fidelity of the specific NZSM care processes implemented in each system, and
- Investigate suicide attempt and mortality outcomes within and across NZSM system models.
Study data are captured using electronic health records and insurance claims. Given strong national support for NZSM, if it is found to be effective to reduce suicide behavior, this model will have nationwide implications for suicide prevention in healthcare settings.