Regulatory Agency Paper Hcs 430

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deemed necessary.

At the prison level, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has the regulatory authority role of protecting the health care of U.S. citizens, regardless of whatever their social status may or may not be. The HHS is also supported by the CDC, the FDA, and finally the Office of the Inspector General. Medicaid and Medicare have very little connection with the prison system, with the exception of when there is a reimbursement due for medical services performed that are out of the ordinary at a prison hospital. One other form of authority could come from what surveys say is one of the most trusted occupations, and that would be the nursing staff. The care they provide on a continuous basis to the prisoners, combined with the multiple regulations, licensing that validates the training and completion of the required nursing boards, further cements the stability and impeccable nursing standards.

Since the NCCHC has their Standards volumes available to public scrutiny, any colleague within the health care community can review these procedural volumes. Based on its Standards, the process uses external peer review to determine whether correctional institutions meet these standards in provision of health services ("National Commission On Correctional Health Care" n.d.) Meaning any qualified group or individual can assess the quality of care provided to those who are incarcerated. The NCCHC has also obtained accreditation for its opioid treatment program, which supports the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that focuses on corrections. Certification for the NCCHC comes from the Certified Correctional Health Professional (CCHP) program, which verifies that the health care correction staff has mastered the skill sets of the ever-changing health care market. The NCCHC

also works very closely with such notable organizations as the American Medical Association (AMA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Bar Association, American College of Emergency Physicians and countless other reputable medical powerhouses.

Providing health care to over 2.4 million individuals, who are incarcerated in prison will continue to always be a challenge, but it is a challenge that the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) is probably the best suited for. The changes and

improvements made to provide better health care to what is probably the most ignored and neglected individuals within the United States are admirable. The defined role of the NCCHC plus the procedural execution of the Standard volumes, in conjunction with the impressive accreditations and certifications, this is probably the best health care model the U.S. correctional system can hope for.

References

National Commission on Correctional Health Care. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.ncchc.org/about

Torrey, E., Kennard, A., Elsinger, D., Lamb, R. & Pavle, J., (2010), May). More Mentally Ill Persons Are in Jails. Treatment Advocacy Center, (),

Retrieved from http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/storage/documents/final_jails_vhospitals_study.pdf