Comments on: News 7/14/10 http://histalkmobile.com/news-71310/ Mobile Healthcare IT News and Opinion Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:19:48 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Smalltown CIO http://histalkmobile.com/news-71310/comment-page-1/#comment-115 Smalltown CIO Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:33:10 +0000 http://histalkmobile.com/?p=500#comment-115 Prison healthcare is a huge issue for most states. Once the inmate enters the prison, their healthcare becomes the responsibility of the state. When you think about the costs of setting up a healthcare visit for an inmate including the appropriate escort, etc., it becomes very expensive very quickly. This is where telehealth can play a big part in reducing some of the costs of providing healthcare to prisons. A secondary issue is the lack of proper medical record data for the physicians to access when treating an inmate. I have spoken with physicians that have told me they will get a call in the middle of the night to prescribe a medication for an inmate. However, because the physician has no medical history to look at, they are forced to request that the inmate is brought in to see them. Again, the cost to transport an inmate is expensive. Prison healthcare is a huge issue for most states. Once the inmate enters the prison, their healthcare becomes the responsibility of the state. When you think about the costs of setting up a healthcare visit for an inmate including the appropriate escort, etc., it becomes very expensive very quickly. This is where telehealth can play a big part in reducing some of the costs of providing healthcare to prisons.

A secondary issue is the lack of proper medical record data for the physicians to access when treating an inmate. I have spoken with physicians that have told me they will get a call in the middle of the night to prescribe a medication for an inmate. However, because the physician has no medical history to look at, they are forced to request that the inmate is brought in to see them. Again, the cost to transport an inmate is expensive.

]]>