Community pharmacists and the assessment and management of suicide risk
Murphy, A.L., Gardner, D.M., Chen, T.F., O'Reilly, C., & Kutcher, S.P.
The recent canadian federal framework for suicide Prevention Act (s.c. 2012, c.30) identifies suicide as a national public health issue that requires federal, provincial, territorial and nongovernmental organization cooperation and
action.1,2 The framework sets forth a process intended to fulfill the requirements of the act. This includes numerous directives, of which at least 3 fit well with the work of community pharmacists1,2:
• Disseminating information about suicide and its prevention
• Defining best practices for the prevention of suicide
• Promoting the use of research and evidence-based practices for the prevention of suicide
However, the potential contribution of community pharmacists in suicide prevention strategies is not well recognized.