Post by Logan on Jul 5, 2016 1:16:38 GMT -6
South Carolina hopes telemedicine improves inmate care, cut costs
COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s prisons agency is taking a high-tech approach to inmate health care, a change officials say will save money and cut down on potential security risks.
The Department of Corrections and the Medical University of South Carolina are announcing a telemedicine partnership this week. Using tools including videoconferencing, doctors at the Charleston hospital will be able to examine inmates remotely, doing routine exams and even diagnosing illnesses from hundreds of miles away.
The partnership with MUSC Health, according to Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, saves money in the costs of transporting inmates to hospitals, an effort that typically requires at least two officers, plus a driver. But, officials say, it also reduces possible security risks to physicians.
“Every time the fence opens and an offender goes out, there’s chances for bad things to happen,” Stirling said in a recent interview. “This will allow us not only to better serve this population, but also it’s a public safety thing. Keeping them behind the fence just makes sense.”
Read more: chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2016-07-04/south-carolina-hopes-telemedicine-improves-inmate-care-cut-costs?v=1467678318
COLUMBIA — South Carolina’s prisons agency is taking a high-tech approach to inmate health care, a change officials say will save money and cut down on potential security risks.
The Department of Corrections and the Medical University of South Carolina are announcing a telemedicine partnership this week. Using tools including videoconferencing, doctors at the Charleston hospital will be able to examine inmates remotely, doing routine exams and even diagnosing illnesses from hundreds of miles away.
The partnership with MUSC Health, according to Corrections Director Bryan Stirling, saves money in the costs of transporting inmates to hospitals, an effort that typically requires at least two officers, plus a driver. But, officials say, it also reduces possible security risks to physicians.
“Every time the fence opens and an offender goes out, there’s chances for bad things to happen,” Stirling said in a recent interview. “This will allow us not only to better serve this population, but also it’s a public safety thing. Keeping them behind the fence just makes sense.”
Read more: chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/2016-07-04/south-carolina-hopes-telemedicine-improves-inmate-care-cut-costs?v=1467678318