Prison Health Care

Prison Health Care Paper

HCS 430- Legal Issue in Health Care: Regulation and Compliance

December 17, 2012

Dr. Baron Smith

Prison Health Care

Yearend 2011 the number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state and federal correctional authorizes were 1,598,780 in the United States according to the U.S. Department of Justice. For every 100,000 residence 492 of them will serves at least one year behind bars. In 2010, 53% of prisoners incarcerated under state jurisdiction (725,000) served time for violent offense and in 2011 48% of prisoners in federal prison served time for drug offenses, 35% for public order crimes. States and federal prison 39% of the population for the prisoners are 40 years old or older. Prison health care is caring for the inmates in prison and correctional facilities around the United States.

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) created in 1970 to handle the health care for the prisoners because of a study done by the American Medical Association. The study indicated that the correctional facilities had inadequate health care for inmates, and it did not flow with national standards in concerned for the health care for prisoners. The Mission of the NCCHC is to improve the quality of health care in jails, prisons, and juvenile confinement facilities. With the support of several other national organizations such as the Academy of Pediatrics, The American Dental Association, The American Medical Association and The American Bar Association representing the fields of health, law, and corrections, (NCCHC, 2012). Prisoners have a constitutional right to health care according, to the Eighth Amendment prohibition of “cruel and unusual” punishment.

Agency Roles

NCCHC’s manages the delivery of health care for medical and mental treatment in the correctional systems. It is important for them to continue the mission of the organization. The organization has a board of directors from supporting organization,...