Health-e-Corrections telehealth program offers telehealth services to juveniles and adults who are incarcerated at the Madison County correctional facility.  Our goal is to ensure that offenders receive timely access to care, while promoting safety for corrections staff. Telehealth can greatly reduce safety risks and costs, such as those associated with offender transportation. 

 

Highly trained medical staff work at offices off-site from the jail, using state-of-the-art telehealth technology to conduct live two-way videoconferencing, with otoscope, stethoscope and additional camera support. Corrections officers have been trained to be telepresenters and, with a provider order, can perform point-of-care testing. Providers also provide in person care for minor procedures, labs, and immunizations (in partnership with the local health department). They are also able to send offenders out for diagnostic testing, STD visits, and dental care which has further decreased costs by decreasing emergency department visits. Behavioral health visits are also offered via telehealth allowing for whole person, coordinated care.
 

This proven method of healthcare delivery is particularly beneficial as it reduces the need for inmate transport while also improving the speed of accessing care and the frequency and timeliness of follow up appointments.  Collaboration with additional service providers, such as behavioral health, health department and laboratory, allow for comprehensive care at a reasonable cost to smaller jails. 

 

 Health-e-Corrections strives to offer same day or next day appointments during the week and can schedule follow up care with the same provider as needed. This improves continuity of care for inmates with chronic conditions and allows for medications to be managed appropriately and cost-effectively, to the benefit of inmates and the facilities that house them. Health-e-Corrections is not an emergency response system and life-threatening situations are still handled according to the facility’s existing protocols. 

 

Health-e-Corrections is a program of The Center for Rural Health Innovation (CRHI), based in Spruce Pine, NC. Another program of CRHI, Health-e-Schools, has been providing school-based telehealth since 2011. Through our already established program of telehealth equipment and trained telehealth providers, we began providing care to the corrections population in April 2020.