Joint Commission · EP 3 Suicide Risk Assessment
CAMS Brief Intervention (CAMS-BI™)
A 60-minute, suicide-focused therapeutic contact built around an evidence-based risk assessment — helping acute-care teams assess risk, stabilize the patient, and plan next steps in a single session.
Designed for emergency departments, crisis units, EmPATH units, and inpatient settings.
Recognized & Referenced By:
The Joint Commission
Zero Suicide Framework
2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
CDC “Well-Supported”
Overview
A Collaborative, Evidence-Based Response to Suicide Risk
CAMS-BI™ (CAMS Brief Intervention) is a 60-minute, suicide-focused therapeutic contact centered around an evidence-based risk assessment. This assessment allows the clinician and patient to work collaboratively — with honesty and empathy — to assess suicide risk and the related issues or problems “driving” suicidality.
Completing this assessment directly facilitates the creation of the CAMS Stabilization Plan (equivalent to other safety plan–type interventions) and the CAMS Treatment Plan, focused on the problems the patient identifies as making suicide a compelling option.
CAMS-BI™ is primarily delivered as a single-session contact in emergency departments, crisis units, EmPATH units, and inpatient settings — providing fast-moving acute-care teams a structured, evidence-based way to assess, respond, and intervene with suicidal risk. If a dispositional care transition or a subsequent follow-up contact is necessary or helpful, CAMS-BI™ also helps provide options for continuing assessment and expanding this care effectively.
Suicide Risk Assessment
Built to Support Joint Commission Compliance
CAMS-BI™ is built around the Suicide Status Form (SSF) — a collaborative suicide risk assessment completed together by clinician and patient
A Defensible, Well-Documented Assessment
Using the SSF supports compliance with The Joint Commission’s expectations for suicide risk assessment (NPG.08.01.01 and NPSG.15.01.01 / EP 3), giving treatment teams a defensible, well-documented assessment process that ensures optimal intervention and may help decrease exposure to malpractice liability.
CAMS-BI™ helps provide evidence-based, suicide-focused practice that helps ensure optimal clinical dispositions and outcomes, while helping to decrease liability with HIPAA-compliant medical record documentation.
See the Assessment for Yourself
Download the CAMS-BI session forms — the Suicide Status Form (SSF-5), Sections A through D — used in the first session of CAMS
EHR availability: The CAMS forms, including the SSF, are available at no additional cost in many Electronic Health Records, including EPIC, Oracle Health, Netsmart, and others.
Contact support@cams-care.com for details on your EHR.
Evidence-Based
Four Decades of Research Behind Every Session
CAMS — the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality — is backed by over 40 years of clinical research, including 7 published Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs), 15 published open clinical trials, 2 meta-analyses, and a dozen ongoing RCTs in the U.S. and abroad.
CAMS-BI™, the adaptation of CAMS for acute settings, centers around a proven therapeutic assessment that reduces distress and hopelessness while increasing motivation to live.
Included in the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, referenced by The Joint Commission and the Zero Suicide Framework, and meeting the CDC’s criteria for a “Well Supported” intervention, the full CAMS Framework® resolves suicidal ideation in an average of 6 to 8 sessions.
40+
years of clinical research behind The CAMS Framework®
58%
of patients report reduced distress after a one-hour CAMS session
7
published RCTs, plus 15 open clinical trials, and two meta-analyses
12
ongoing RCTs in the United States and abroad
In the Room
What Happens in a CAMS-BI™ Session?
Therapeutic Assessment
A structured, collaborative quantitative and qualitative engagement — using the SSF — that validates the patient’s experience and allows the patient to identify, in their own words, the drivers of their suicidality. These patient-identified drivers become the focus of treatment.
Stabilization Planning
A CAMS Stabilization Plan (equivalent to other safety plan–type interventions) built together to help ensure stability.
Suicide-Focused Treatment Planning
A personalized, suicide-focused Treatment Plan that targets suicidal drivers, fosters optimal dispositions, and helps increase patient motivation for connection to ongoing follow-up care.
Your Workforce
Who Can Administer CAMS-BI™?
CAMS-BI™ can be administered by a broad range of trained staff across acute-care settings:
Psychiatrists
Nurses
Psychologists
Social Workers
Licensed Counselors
Professional & Graduate Students*
Peer Support Specialists*
*Under the supervision of a licensed professional — including, but not limited to: students in behavioral health and nursing programs, and recent graduates, fellows, and residents in the disciplines above. Peer support specialists also practice under supervision. Delivered in emergency departments, crisis units, EmPATH units, and inpatient hospitals.
Outcomes & Benefits
What CAMS-BI™ means for your system of care
Improved follow-up
May support higher follow-up rates for the outpatient CAMS appointments that treat the patient’s drivers.
Fewer Returns
Using CAMS-BI™ may help reduce return visits to EDs and crisis units and lower involuntary hospitalizations.
Common Language
The CAMS Framework® gives staff a shared language across the system of care, enabling smoother crisis-to-outpatient transitions.
Supported Staff
Teams that see results and fewer returns report improved morale.
Stronger Documentation
A proven assessment with clear documentation supports sound clinical practice and may reduce liability exposure.
One Session, Real Impact
Even a single CAMS-BI™ session leaves the patient with a stabilization and treatment plan to build on.
From Crisis to Continued Care
A Clear Path Beyond the First Session
Emergency departments and hospitals often face significant time constraints. CAMS-BI™ is designed to support a smooth transition to ongoing care, even when local resources are limited.
CAMS-BI™
A single-session entry point that allows for a better understanding of suicidal risk and pain — assessment, stabilization, and a treatment plan in ~60 minutes.
Referral
Connect to outpatient CAMS providers through the CAMS Clinician Locator.
Full CAMS Framework®
When possible, outpatient treatment using the full CAMS Framework® is the ideal referral — it treats this risk and pain, resolving suicidal ideation in an average of 6–8 sessions.
If the full Framework isn’t available, patients leave a CAMS-BI™ session with greater insight and greater motivation for engaging the care that is available — along with a Stabilization Plan and Treatment Plan that form the basis for their ongoing care.
Helpful Resources
Learn more about CAMS-BI™
Free Educational Video
CAMS Brief Intervention: 360 Degrees of Support
Suicide Status Form
CAMS-BI™ Forms — Suicide Status Form (SSF-5)
See How CAMS-BI™ Fits Your Setting
Tell us a little about your organization and our team will reach out to talk through implementation, training, and EHR options.