At my hospital every patient who comes in to the ER is supposed to be asked suicide screening questions. If they are admitted as an inpatient they are asked again. I don't think this is useful and adds to the plethora of screening questions that is overkill these days.
I don't see the point in complicating a simple or serious medical problem/evaluation with a barrage of unrelated questions. Of course there appears on the computer a complicated rating system along with the screening that is utterly formulaic and impractical.
Of course, with a psych presentation/problem these questions are appropriate and valid. But, asking the questions of people with physical complaints is opening up a can of worms. If someone with a broken arm says they attempted suicide years ago, what are we going to do? Nothing other than move on to the next question on the list, that gets longer each year.
I suspect that these sorts of policies originate from the personal grief or guilt of someone in a regulatory role in healthcare. 'If only my brother had been screened for suicide in the ER when he broke his arm last year, he'd still be alive today!'.
