An Evaluation of the Impact of Communications Technology and Improved Medical Protocol on Health Care Delivery in Penal Institutions. 1st Interim Technical Report

摘要

The report describes the first phase of a telemedicine health care delivery system designed to increase the accessibility of medical care to isolated patients. Three Dade County, Florida prison facilities and Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami were selected as sites for the project. Prison settings were chosen because they provide a fairly certain patient population who will return for followup visits, they represent a cross-section of society's health needs, and they are prime areas of medical isolation. The program begins by upgrading the current prison health care delivery system ('Existing System') through the use of new and innovative health care delivery techniques. This 'Baseline System' is to operate for six months during which time all of its characteristics will be documented. All system components represent existing rather than new technology since the program does not aim to develop new hardware and technology. It is the integration of these components to augment health care delivery that is unique. The report details development and operation of the Baseline System including the analysis approach, medical care evaluation methodology, and cost analysis and personnel evaluation techniques.