Predictors of Intentional Self -Harm Among Medicaid Mental Health Clinic Clients In New York.

BACKGROUND: Behavioral health outpatients are at risk for self-harm. Identifying individuals or combination of risk factors could discriminate those at elevated risk for self-harm. METHODS: The study population (N = 248,491) included New York State Medicaid-enrolled individuals aged 10 to 64 with mental health clinic services between November 1, 2015 to November 1, 2016. Self-harm episodes were defined using ICD-10 codes from emergency department and inpatient visits. Multi-predictor logistic regression models were fit on a subsample of the data and compared to a testing sample based on discrimination performance (Area Under the Curve or AUC). RESULTS: Of N = 248,491 patients, 4,224 (1.70%) had an episode of intentional self-harm. Factors associated with increased self-harm risk were age 17-25, being female and having recent diagnoses of depression (AOR=4.3, 95%CI: 3.6-5.0), personality disorder (AOR=4.2, 95%CI: 2.9-6.1), or substance use disorder (AOR=3.4, 95%CI: 2.7-4.3) within the last month. A multi-predictor logistic regression model including demographics and new psychiatric diagnoses within 90 days prior to index date had good discrimination and outperformed competitor models on a testing sample (AUC=0.86, 95%CI:0.85-0.87). LIMITATIONS: New York State Medicaid data may not be generalizable to the entire U.S population. ICD-10 codes do not allow distinction between self-harm with and without intent to die. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the usefulness of recency of new psychiatric diagnoses, in predicting the magnitude and timing of intentional self-harm risk. An algorithm based on this finding could enhance clinical assessments support screening, intervention and outreach programs that are at the heart of a Zero Suicide prevention model.

Most Individuals Are Seen in Outpatient Medical Settings Prior to Intentional Self-Harm and Suicide Attempts Treated in a Hospital Setting.

The objective of this quantitative retrospective study is to understand healthcare patterns prior to self-harm, which may inform prevention efforts and identify intervention sites. Medicaid claims within 30, 60, 90, and 365 days prior to hospital-treated self-harm between 11/1/2015 and 11/1/2016 in New York State (N = 7492) were examined. Numbers and proportions were calculated for all service types. Participants were predominately 15-34, female, and White. Most (97%) had prior-year services, 94% outpatient care (73% behavioral health, 90% medical), 69% emergency department (37% behavioral health, 59% medical), and 42% inpatient services (34% behavioral health, 20% medical). About 86% received services within 90 days and 80% within 60 days. Utilization was high within 30 days prior, with 69% having one or more services. Medical services were more common than behavioral health (94% versus 79% in prior year); outpatient (94%) was more common than emergency (69%) and inpatient (42%) care. Given that most patients received health services within 30 days and almost all saw providers within the year prior, the findings indicate that improved prevention efforts within the healthcare system can reduce the incidence of self-harm.