Telemedicine could mean big savings for prison healthcare
Telemedicine could mean big savings for prison healthcare
Healthcare costs for federal prisoners could be reduced by avoiding their frequent transfer of these individuals to federal medical facilities, particularly if those transfers require air charter, according to a report just released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ; Washington). The report says that such transfers could be avoided by using telemedicine systems instead of conventional in-prison care and could result in a savings of about $102 per patient encounter.
"Telemedicine Can Reduce Correctional Health Care Costs: An Evaluation of a Prison Telemedicine Network" reports on the feasibility of remote telemedicine consultations in prisons and the estimated financial impact of implementing telemedicine in other prison systems. Participating in the project were four federal prisons: the U.S. Penitentiary and the Federal Correctional Institution (both in Allenwood, PA), the U.S. Penitentiary (Lewisburg, PA) and the Federal Medical Center, a prison healthcare facility (Lexington, KY).
"This report provides us with useful information about how prison officials can reduce their health care costs by implementing a telemedicine network," said NIJ Director Jeremy Travis. "Telemedical capabilities offer an alternative to traditional health care to inmates, as well as expanded access to healthcare providers outside the prison environment."
The report summarizes the current practice of medical care in most federal prisons. Such care is normally delivered through four types of providers: prison employees offering routine care, in-person clinics contracted by the prisons to provide specialty care, hospital care requiring transportation outside the prison to nearby health care facilities, and extensive care frequently requiring transportation by air charter to a Bureau of Prisons Federal Medical Center. A fifth method of healthcare for this demonstration remote encounters with specialists by telemedicine was added to determine whether the prisons could use telemedicine to overcome local problems in accessing needed specialists and improve security by avoiding travel outside the prison.
Researchers from Abt Associates found that telemedicine was adopted quickly and used frequently. By the end of the demonstration, 1,321 teleconsultations had been conducted. Physicians reported that telemedical consultations were effective substitutes for direct, in-person consultations in some specialties, such as psychiatry and dermatology, but less than adequate in others like cardiology and orthopedics. The average cost of a telemedicine consultation would be $71, compared to about $173 for conventional care that combines in-prison care with external consultations.
The complete report is available on the Internet at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij.
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