Hospital-Based Violence Prevention: Progress and Opportunities

A substantial body of research shows that violently injured patients are at high risk for violent reinjury, violence perpetration, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress (1, 2). The standard of care for assault injury, however, does not reflect this knowledge—physical wounds are treated and patients are discharged, often to return with repeated injuries. Although many physicians wish to act on this knowledge, as evidenced by a recent call to action endorsed by 8 medical societies (3), little concrete guidance on what they can do is available. In this commentary, we describe how hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) work to translate research into practice. We discuss challenges to HVIPs, steps that physicians can take to overcome them, and opportunities for these programs under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).