NCJ Number
229841
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 71 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2009 Pages: 30-32
Date Published
October 2009
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This overview of the evolution of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections' (DOC's) contracted health care services addresses contracting with multiple vendors, the multidisciplinary quality improvement structure, data sources, collaboration, and outcomes.
Abstract
Regarding outcomes, the DOC's multiple-vendor system has achieved advances toward the goal of providing quality health care services in a cost-effective manner. The DOC's contract monitoring and quality improvement structure is the key to maintaining this progress. In 2003, the DOC awarded contracts to three separate vendors to provide, medical, psychiatric, and pharmacy services. Laboratory and X-ray services are subcontracted by the medical vendor. The multidisciplinary quality improvement structure requires that each institution conduct a monthly quality improvement meeting that includes vendors and the institution's staff. A formatted, comprehensive agenda that addresses important components of health care services is used at all institutions, and each institution completes standardized monthly minutes of the quality improvement meeting, summarizing findings and action plans. The final authority in the quality improvement chain of command is the State quality improvement committee, which meets semiannually. Regarding data sources, the DOC lacked an electronic medical record, which posed a major obstacle in managing its multiple-vendor system. In order to overcome this obstacle, the quality improvement meeting structure brought the three vendors to one table for the purpose of sharing traditionally "confidential, proprietary data." The vendors recognized the value of integrating their separate automated data sources as they work collaboratively with the DOC's Bureau of Health Care Services (BHCS). In addition to the quality improvement committees, BHCS conducts monthly meetings with the medical and psychiatric vendors to review operational issues. A quarterly pharmacy and therapeutics meeting is also held. 1 table and 1 figure