In risk assessment across general, adolescent, and geriatric populations, which setting provides the greatest opportunity for suicide screening?

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Screening for suicide risk is best integrated into primary care because it reaches the widest and most diverse group of patients over time. In primary care, patients come for routine visits, chronic disease management, and preventive care, creating frequent, ongoing opportunities to screen using validated tools and to follow up if risk is identified. This longitudinal relationship helps detect evolving or previously unrecognized risk across all ages, including adolescents and older adults who might not seek specialized mental health care. In contrast, the emergency department focuses on acute crises with limited time for thorough screening, specialty psychiatric clinics see patients who are already engaged in mental health care rather than the general population, and home health visits, while valuable, involve less consistent contact and smaller coverage. Thus primary care offers the greatest opportunity to identify suicide risk early across general, adolescent, and geriatric populations.