CDCR To Launch Statewide Prison EHR System Test Sites This Year
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation plans this year to launch an electronic health record system for prisoners at several test sites, the Salem Statesman Journal reports.
Background
According to the Statesman Journal, the statewide project is based on a system that has been in place at the Los Angeles County Jail since 2000.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Captain Kevin Kuykendall said the jail's EHR system handles records for about 16,000 inmates. The jail also plans to upgrade the system to include billing capabilities.
Kuykendall in an email said, "Just having instantaneous access to an inmate's complete medical file is a significant step in improving inmate medical care," adding that EHRs can "resul[t] in better care and less errors."
Details of CDCR Project
In April 2012, CDCR issued a request for proposal for an electronic system to keep track of the medical records of about 120,000 inmates across the state.
The project has a budget of about $59 million and began about 18 months ago.
CDCR spokesperson Liz Gransee said the project is not yet complete, but that several test sites are expected to be running by October (Hoffman, Salem Statesman Journal, 1/5).
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