Abstract
Consultations in Emergency Medicine: Suicidal Patients in the Emergency Department
Fauman B
This article deals with the medical implications in the emergency department of dealing with a patient who talks about suicide. Guidelines are presented for handling this type of situation. Certain questions should be asked, such as: why the patient is bringing up the subject, has the patient contemplated suicide before & is there a prior history of psychiatric illness. Based on the patient’s answers, the doctor can hospitalize the patient, request a psychiatric consultation or discharge them.