Prison Health Services: An Overview

Abstract

This article presents a brief overview of prison health services 30 years ago and compares that picture to prison health services today. While there have been substantial improvements in the development of adequate health care delivery systems in prisons, the author notes that there are still underserved populations in our nation’s prison systems. Among them are the mentally retarded, the nonaggressive mentally ill, substance abusers, sex offenders, hepatitis C-infected inmates, and the terminally ill. Other areas where prison systems could improve include the development of effective quality improvement programs and the initiation of discharge planning programs for inmates with serious health needs. Financing for prison health services is also discussed. The article concludes with a call for prison health staff to develop better linkages with their public health colleagues, particularly in information sharing, to avoid duplication of services.

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