Prison Health Care Agency Paper
HCS/430: Legal Issues in Health Care: Regulation and Compliance
October 8, 2012
Lenetra S. McCord, FACHE Prison Healthcare
It does not matter how you look at it, health care is one huge topic; but when you look at health care in the view point of a prisoner it may take a completely different view. People in prison have Federal and State laws which make prisons provide health care for the prisoners needs. Within this paper a government agency will be identified, one that has a role in regulating health care which is provided for prisoners within an institution in the United States; as well as a another agency that regulate certifications, accreditations, license, along with authorization for the employees that are employed within a facility that houses prisoners.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
An agency that was founded May 13, 1930; and approved by President Herbert Hoover and was called The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). This agency is headquartered in Washington D.C. and is a subdivision of the U.S. Justice Department. The BOP is accountable for the administration of the Federal prison system. The only purpose of the BOP is to furnish an unbiased and empathetic care to anyone who is a federal prisoner in the U.S. prison system. The BOP also provides inmates with any health care they may need in agreement with any Federal and State laws. One of the most negative aspects that the BOP is responsible for is carrying out all judicially mandated federal executions, including the lethal injection of inmates who have been sentenced to death for a crime they have committed (Federal, 2012). The BOP also maintains the chamber for lethal injection of a prisoner. They are the ones that make sure the lethal injection has been properly set up in a humane way for the execution of a prisoner. The BOP structure is like any other agency; and has several divisions with advisory boards and boards of directors for each level. The division that includes health care is called the Health Services Division, having five separate units that make up the BOP. They are the health services and clinical programs, the drug-free workplace, foodservice, safety, and worker’s compensation (Federal, 2012).
Each of these units involves working together to provide every prisoner the things that they need the most. These units work with all other sections of the BOP in order to keep a budget to build and keep medical clinics that are needed in a prison system. The influence the BOP has on prison health care is enormous, if they did not lend their support and efforts to the prison health care, it would not be what it is today. In November of 2007, the BOP was responsible for providing among other things, health care services to close to 167,000 prisoners in 114 different institutions across the U.S. They had created a budget that had set aside $736 million for health care services to inmates housed within these institutions (Federal, 2012).
Health care services which are provided to prisoners are achieved through in-house medical providers that are employed by or provided to the BOP by nearby public health services. The services are made accessible to the inmates/prisoners by medical providers that specialize in all-encompassing care or particular care and/or personal services from areas which are located around or near where the prison is located. The BOP and health care professionals from nearby community areas work collectively in order to provide health care services which are required for any and all prisoner/inmates housed in the prison system. If there were no professionals from the surrounding community willing to come into the prisons, the prisoner/inmates would not be able to have access to any health care and there could be a number of prisoner/inmates die due to not having any healthcare. One example of the Federal Bureau of Prisons carrying out their duties is tele-health services that are provided to these inmates. Tele-health services are interactive solutions designed to meet the needs of healthcare facilities through patient education and communication (Magaletta, 2000).
Tele-health services are provided by the BOP to the prisoners via video conferencing, particularly for the prisoners that have been provided behavioral health services. With the video conferencing prisoners can correspond using the internet with their psychologist. Using the internet in this way can help the prisoners that are violent or ill and are unable to leave their prison cells. Other great benefits of tele-health is inmates have access to specialists that they otherwise would not have, it provides the correctional institution with greater certainty and control in arranging appointments and repeatedly allows emergency cases to be seen more quickly, and it is very cost effective for the institution (Magaletta, 2000).
Regulatory Authority
There are regulations and guidelines that the BOP needs to stick to in providing health care to prisoners while in the prison system. Some regulations and guidelines will differ from one prison institution to another prison institution; but the authority that is given to the BOP is the same in health care in spite of which prison a prisoner may be housed at. Health care services to prisoners are regulated based on their needs by the BOP. Prisons have psychological services that are available to every prisoner as well as a provider for any other possible medical needs. As other needs arise, the BOP is responsible for providing and maintaining these needs with rules and regulations designed for such (Federal, 2012).
The American Bar Association
It is required for those working in a prison hospital to have and keep any mandatory and/or licenses which may be required by the state where the prison is located. This is a requirement identical to any health care professional who works within the same state as that prison institution. The American Bar Association (ABA) is responsible for making sure that each employee that works within the prison hospital has the proper licensure, accreditation, certification, and authorization to do so (Standards, 2012). The ABA approved Criminal Justice Standards in February, 2010, for those imprisoned within the U.S. prison system. There are fifteen standards that are in reference to the health care which is given to the prisoners as well as to those who provide the health care. Standard number 23-6.4 specifically covers the issue of qualified health care personnel who provide services to prison inmates. This standard says that each institution should employ or contract an appropriate number of experienced medical, dental, and mental health professionals at each correctional facility to render preventive, routine, urgent, and emergency health care in a timely manner consistent with accepted health care practice and standards (Standards, 2012).
The standards also state that every professional needs to be fully licensed in agreement with the requirements for the state. Anyone that gives health care services, even in the prison system, should be licensed just like any other individual that is going into the healthcare field. Everyone must have state certification/license and pass the state board to show that they are qualified in order to work in whatever special field they may have chosen in the health care setting. An associate or bachelor degree in some type of health science or other field is required by others in order for them to work in the health care field. After an individual gets the appropriate certification/degree, that individual will be able to work anywhere that their expertise may be required and/or needed. Physicians, nurses and many other health service experts that are qualified in doing their jobs are able to choose work within the prison system and are available to provide care to prisoners that are sick. These professionals are able to give these prisoners the quality care which many prisoners merit regardless of the reason they are in prison.
Conclusion
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a Federal agency which regulates all health care within the prison system; it becomes clear that this structure is like many other regulatory agencies that are made to deliver health care services. Rules, regulations and standards are put in place for the care of prisoners. The American Bar Association operates as an overseer of those individuals that work in the prison environment in order to be sure that they are in possession of all the correct licenses and certifications. Having these two agencies work together guarantees that prisoners will receive the proper health care while they are incarcerated and in need of medical care. Prisoners will be treated with quality care that any person outside a prison would receive; and these professionals would not have any thought regarding the fact that the prisoner was any more than another human being.

References:

Federal Bureau of Prisons, Health Care Resources, 2012, Retrieved from http://www.bop.gov/news/medresources.jsp
Magaletta, Phillip R., What is Correctional About Clinical Practice in Corrections?, 2000, Retrieved from http://husky1.stmarys.ca/~mpatry/Magalettaetal07.pdf