Telemedicine Improves Care for the Incarcerated

When an inmate has a complex medical condition, the logistics of an in-person visit with a specialist can be challenging. Many correctional facilities are using telemedicine to bypass some of those obstacles and get their inmates time with specialists who match their needs.

Consistent access to specialists has also been shown to improve quality of care. One study of HIV-infected adult inmates, for example, found that 91% of telemedicine patients achieved complete suppression of the virus after six visits, while only 59% of patients who received standard on-site care did.

In addition, organizations report that the improved care inmates receive during video visits doesn’t come at the expense of patient-provider relationships. Dr. Edward Levine, who sees up to 150 gastroenterology patients a year from 29 prisons through telemedicine visits coordinated by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center notes, “You develop a relationship with them the same as you would if you saw them in a clinic.”

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