Home Login

Electronic Health Records in a Correctional Setting—The Why and How of Investing in People Through Technology

Author: Stuart Hudson.; Jennifer A. Clayton, R.N., B.A., C.C.H.P..

Source: Volume 17, Number 06, September/October 2016 , pp.85-92(8)

Abstract:

Since 2012, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC), an American Correctional Association-accredited system with over 90,000 persons confined or under community supervision, has been working toward the development and implementation of an EHR that would help eliminate silos between health care disciplines and improve the quality and accessibility of health care throughout the correctional health care system. Ohio made the conscious decision not to invest in a medical only record (EMR), opting instead for a fully functional health record incorporating every facet of medical, dental, mental health, substance abuse, and sex offender services treatment. This article explains why Ohio chose to implement a full EHR, what specific steps were needed, and how ODRC is now benefitting from the new system.

Keywords: aging population; mental health caseload; addiction/recovery service needs; reduction of liability for mismanagement of care; HITECH Act; American Health Information Management Association; continuity of care; HIPAA; streamline workflow; return on in

Affiliations: 1: Chief of the Office of Correctional Healthcare; 2: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (ODRC).