HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: ADVANCING CARE WITHIN CORRECTIONS, IMPROVING CARE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY

Health care within correctional environments is not a well-understood topic. Even less well understood is the role of health information technology (health IT) in these environments. To better grasp the nature of health care within corrections and how health IT is deployed in these settings, it helps to know the unique nature of the correctional environment, including the health status of justice-involved populations and the constitutional standards for health care delivery in corrections.There are 11.6 million people who cycle through our nation's jails each year. Of that population, 80 percent have chronic medical conditions that have not been treated, 68 percent have substance use disorders, and close to 15 percent of males and over 30 percent of females are seriously mentally ill (SMI). Correctional institutions are required to provide healthcare to these individuals because of a 1976 Supreme Court decision, Estelle v. Gamble. This decision stated that correctional institutions could not be deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of individuals within their custody, since that would contravene the Eighth Amendment's ban against cruel and unusual punishment.