Our updated estimates of the increased cost of suicide reinforce the importance of additional preventive measures. Addressing suicide requires a multifactorial approach involving communities, workplaces, schools, and the health sector (Research Prioritization Task Force [RPTF], 2014; US Department of Health and Human Services, 2012). This study helps us quantify the benefits of one component of that approach: the health sector. Currently, 10%–15% of patients who engage in medically serious suicide attempts will die by suicide within 10 years (Suominen et al., 2004). Approximately 14% of individuals who make medically serious suicide attempts will be re‐admitted to the hospital for a suicide attempt within 1 year, and their cumulative risk of readmission for a suicide attempt after an index suicide attempt is 28.1% over 10 years (Gibb, Beautrais, & Fergusson, 2005). Controlled studies have identified a number of successful approaches for reducing the risk of suicide attempts; a stronger continuum of care across services within hospitals as well as between hospitals and the community could help institutionalize these initiatives (Brown et al., 2005; Carter, Clover, Whyte, Dawson, & D'Este, 2005; Fleischman
