Governance and Administration Flashcards

Which accreditation body specifically evaluates health care services in correctional facilities through its Health Care Standards?

Answer: NCCHC (National Commission on Correctional Health Care)

NCCHC establishes Health Care Standards specifically designed for correctional settings and provides accreditation for jails, prisons, and juvenile facilities.

A warden wants to reduce health care costs by limiting physician visits to once per week. What is the health administrator's primary obligation?

Answer: Inform the warden that clinically necessary care cannot be restricted by administrative convenience

Health administrators must ensure that clinical decisions are not subordinated to institutional or budgetary pressures, as restricting medically necessary access violates constitutional standards.

Under the concept of 'deliberate indifference,' correctional health staff can be held liable when they:

Answer: Know of a serious medical need and disregard it without reasonable justification

Deliberate indifference under Estelle v. Gamble requires knowledge of a serious medical need and conscious disregard of that need, not merely negligence.

A correctional health program's policy manual should be reviewed and updated at minimum:

Answer: Annually or whenever significant operational or regulatory changes occur

NCCHC standards require that policies and procedures be reviewed annually and updated as needed to reflect current practices and legal requirements.

Which committee is MOST responsible for ongoing review of medication errors, adverse drug events, and pharmacy practices in a correctional health program?

Answer: Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee

The Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee oversees formulary management, medication use policies, and review of drug-related adverse events.

When a correctional health administrator disagrees with a security policy that impacts patient care, the BEST approach is to:

Answer: Document the concern and formally raise it through the joint health-security governance process

Effective correctional health governance relies on collaborative conflict resolution through formal channels that include both health and security leadership.

A jail health program serves both sentenced inmates and pretrial detainees. Which legal standard applies to the health care rights of pretrial detainees?

Answer: The Fourteenth Amendment due process standard, which may be higher than the Eighth Amendment

Pretrial detainees are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, and courts have held this may afford at least equal or greater protection than the Eighth Amendment.