Pharmacy Identification and Primary Care
Intervention of Older Adults at Risk for Suicide
(PREDICTOR)
PREDICTOR: Pharmacy Identification and Primary Care Intervention of Older Adults at Risk for Suicide, a study funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. PREDICTOR was designed to address some of the specific needs of older patients who use both antidepressants and opioid pain relief medications, and support their PCPs, particularly in rural areas. If you are interested in participating, click here.
Rural older adults live with both a greater medical burden and other social determinants of worse mental and physical health and suicide outcomes than older adults in urban areas. The PREDICTOR study aims to identify innovative approaches to identify at-risk patients, and include other highly trusted healthcare professionals, like community pharmacists, into cutting-edge care teams.
We will identify strategies that can potentially help both patients and physicians: engaging pharmacists in focused screening of older customers flagged for receiving prescriptions for both an opioid analgesic and an antidepressant, and implementing a mental health consultation approach that blends psychiatric decision support for the PCP with care coordination. The research team is targeting community pharmacists because they are accessible, even in rural areas, and are among the most trusted health care professionals.
