NCJ Number
190462
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 63 Issue: 5 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 58-62
Date Published
August 2001
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes coordinating effective health and mental health continuity of care.
Abstract
An estimated 25 to 40 percent of inmates in U.S. prisons have significant health care conditions that will require continuity of care services upon release. This involves close coordination and good communication between correctional health staff and public health agencies. Many inmates have health and mental health problems that result from high-risk behavior such as intravenous drug risk, smoking, and multiple sex partners. A number of inmates are 65 and older or younger persons whose high-risk lifestyles have resulted in appraised medical ages 5 to 10 years older than their chronological age, with all the problems common to the older group. Fifteen to 20 percent of mentally ill inmates have serious disorders which require continuity of care. Obstacles to providing continuity of care include unwillingness of community-based services to deal with ex-offenders, failure to coordinate service delivery, remoteness of prisons from offenders' home communities, uncertainty of inmates' release dates, and inadequate understanding of post-release assistance entitlement. Enhancing continuity of care could involve: (1) inmate health care education and preparation for managing self-care; (2) inter- and intra-agency case management coordination and communication; (3) infectious disease management and community notification; (4) application process for health and mental health care entitlements; and (5) mental health continuity of care.