United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Health, Education, and Human Services Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1994-02-10 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:HEHS-94-36 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-36 P0b002ee180381e9f f:he94036 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-36 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-36 HEHS-94-36 Prisoners Health care services Physicians Quality assurance Correctional facilities Health care facilities Health services administration Cost effectiveness analysis Health care cost control Medical information systems Butner (NC) Lexington (KY) Springfield (MO) Letter Report HEHS Federal prisoners with special needs, including women, psychiatric patients, and those with chronic illnesses, have not been receiving all of the health care they need at medical referral centers run by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). A lack of doctors and nurses is a major problem. Some of BOP's medical referral centers that GAO visited failed to correct identified quality-of-care problems. Although the doctors at each of the centers GAO visited were qualified, many physician assistants did not meet the training and certification requirements of the medical community outside of BOP. To reduce its reliance on community hospitals and other outside health care facilities, BOP is considering building six large hospitals and acquiring several military facilities. But BOP has yet to develop the data needed to determine the kind of medical services needed by inmates and the type of services it can effectively and efficiently deliver. Without such information, BOP can only guess at the numbers and types of staff it would need to run these hospitals. BOP should consider drawing on the experience of states with problems in providing inmates with adequate medical care. These states have successfully contracted out some or all of their inmate medical care. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-36/html/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-36.htm GAO/HEHS-94-36 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-HEHS-94-36 Letter Report GAO/HEHS-94-36; Bureau of Prisons Health Care: Inmates' Access to Health Care Is Limited by Lack of Clinical Staff; Prisoners Health care services Physicians Quality assurance Correctional facilities Health care facilities Health services administration Cost effectiveness analysis Health care cost control Medical information systems Butner (NC) Lexington (KY) Springfield (MO)