Health Care Needs of Incarcerated Patients: A Case Study at a Large Urban Hospital

This study examined a sample of incarcerated patients who received health care at an urban safety-net hospital in Massachusetts. Sociodemographic, clinical, and utilization data were obtained from patients' charts and administrative data. Our sample was 87% male and 36% Black and included a large proportion of patients with substance-related use. Incarcerated patients receiving outside care had a wide range of acute and chronic medical and surgical conditions, necessitating both emergent and scheduled care. The most frequent outpatient encounters included surgery (neurosurgery and oral/maxillofacial surgery), ophthalmology, medicine, and radiation oncology. Our findings provide a better understanding of the health care services that incarcerated patients may require outside their facilities and the kinds of interventions and policies that are needed to increase access to more timely care.