NEW FACES IN MEDICAL
Dr. Tootell, the previous CDCR Central Regional Medical Director and consultant with UCSF, has joined San Quentin Prison as the new Chief Medical Officer (“CMO”). She is well-versed in correctional medicine and is glad to become part of the new San Quentin Prison Medical Team.
Dr. Pratt has also joined San Quentin Prison as the Chief Physician and Surgeon. She also worked as a consultant for UCSF, and was the Medical Director of public health clinics in San Francisco. She has extensive experience with correctional medicine, addition medicine, and primary care physicians.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Medical Receiver in charge of medical upgrades has a web site at: www.cprinc.org.
PHARMACY OPERATIONS UPGRADE
As one of the many steps being taken by the Office of the Receiver, San Quentin Prison is in the process of upgrading the Pharmacy operations with the installation of a new computer software program. SQ is the seventh institution within CDCR to receive this program. This software came on-line here on June 23, 2008. The installation of the new software program will not change what medications you are prescribed by your Primary Care Provider. It will not change where you pick up your medications or how the medications are administered. What the software will do is improve the health care services to the entire population. The medical staff will be able to better track all of your medication needs as well as to respond quicker to any problems related to medication administration. The health care staff is looking forward to this improvement and is excited about getting into the 21st Century.
HEALTH CARE DUCATS
Inmate movement throughout the institution is scheduled via the inmate ducat system, including health care appointments. Our health care staff submits their list of inmate patients they want to see each day to the Inmate Assignment
Office. Inmate Assignments generates the ducats issued to each inmate-patient.
Once you receive the health care ducat, it is your responsibility to report to the health care appointment at the designated time. All health care ducats are priority ducats and allow you to leave your assignment or not report to your assignment in order to report to your health care appointment on time.
If you do not report as instructed on the ducat, then you are subject to discipline as stated in Title 15 § 3014, “Call and Passes.” However, it is not our desire in health care to write you up, but to provide necessary or requested health care services. When you don’t show up as ducated, you put your own health at risk and may need more extensive care or treatment later on, which could have been avoided if you had reported to the health care as scheduled. Additionally, if you don’t report as scheduled, you just took away an appointment from another inmate-patient who could have been scheduled and seen by health care staff.
You need to report even if you don’t want the assistance or care. Health care staff want (and need) to make sure you understand the decision you are making by not being see or treated. Health care staff will educate you on what could happen if you are not seen or treated. It is your decision, but the job as health care professionals is to ensure that you are informed of what could happen. If you don’t want treatment it will not be forced upon you and health care staff will ask you to sign a CDCR Form 7225, “Refusal of Treatment” form.
REQUESTS FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICES
All health care services, including Medical, Mental Health, and Dental, that you need are requested by submitting a CDCR Form 7262, “Health Care Services Request.” Copies of this form are available to you in the housing units as well as all clinic areas. When you wish to see a health care staff member, you need to complete the form and place it in the designated sick call box within your housing unit.
Health care staff (usually a nurse) picks up the requests on a daily basis and reviews each one. The nurse makes a decision, based upon what you write on the form, if you need to be seen that day (urgent care needed), the following day, or forwards the request to Dental, Mental Health, or other health care service areas for action.
Once you submit a form, it is reviewed and processed as quickly as possible. If the reason you requested to see a doctor is urgent based on the nurses review of your request, you may be requested to report to the clinics or custody staff will escort you to the clinic area. If your request is not urgent, you will be scheduled to be seen by health care staff. How soon you are seen is based on the nature of your health care problem. Some issues can reasonably wait several days while others need to be seen sooner.
Please do not submit duplicate requests for the same reason, as this only slows down the review and scheduling of necessary appointments and puts everyone behind in ensuring that all patients are seen as soon as possible.
Additionally, the CDCR For 7362, “Health Care Services Request,” is not to be used to ask questions such as, “When am I going to be scheduled?” or “When am I going out to the specialist?” The CDCR Form 7362 is only to be used to request health are services and not as a way of trying to get information.
SAN QUENTIN PRISON’S MEDICAL FACE-LIFT
There is construction aplenty at SQ these days, as the Receiver moves forward with plans to improve medical delivery and support space.
All systems are go to proceed with the creating of the five story “Central Health Services Center,” providing 50 beds, mental health, and dental services, clinics, R&R, administration, lab, X-ray, medical records, and pharmacy for the entire institution. That $146 million project will become a reality in the year 2010. Soon, a modular unit for clinical and administrative space will open on the upper yard. Another project – to build out the West and East Block rotundas for clinics – is on its way. We are also working on the design for a new personnel building and a medical warehouse.
MEDICAL INFORMATION
A complete copy of the “Statewide Inmate Medical Services Program Policies and Procedures, Volume 4, Chapter 4, Access to Primary Care,” can be found in the Law Library, if you want additional details regarding this process.
