Jails' Progress in Implementing AMA (American Medical Association) Standards - First Evaluation Report

• NCJ Number: 75759
• Author(s): B J Anno
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 59 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-MU-AX-0008
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: American Medical Assoc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report evaluates the initial progress made by 221 county and municipal jails in 23 States in implementing an American Medical Association (AMA) program to improve medical care and health services in jails.

Abstract

The report focuses on progress from the project's initiation in June 1979 until April 1980. The program was funded by a LEAA grant with 10 percent matching funds from the 23 participating medical societies. The program was designed to transfer the successful aspects of a 4-year AMA pilot project to new jails in additional States. The pilot project had developed models for health care delivery, devised and tested standards for three types of correctional institutions, launched an accreditation program for jail health systems, and established a clearinghouse for correctional health care. Each of the 23 medical societies, except the group in Hawaii, was expected to choose at least 10 jails, identify their deficiencies, and provide technical assistance. Descriptive data provided by each jail upon entering the program and self-surveys conducted by the jails each 6 months constituted the data sources for the evaluation. State medical society staff were asked to verify the jails' responses through telephone calls or site visits to each jail. Followup information on jails' compliance with AMA standards included either self-surveys or reports of on-site survey teams involved in reviewing jails which had applied for accreditation. One point was awarded for compliance with each of the 69 standards; the standards were not weighted according to their relative values. Results showed that the jails clearly needed technical assistance to upgrade their health care systems and that during the study period, significant improvements occurred in most of the program sites. Results of the latest self-survey will be reported in March 1981, and a final report detailing the jails' improvement over the program's 2 years will be completed in the summer of 1981. Extensive tables and charts providing State-by-State analyses are provided.