ASHP Guidelines on Pharmacy Services in Correctional Facilities.

Correctional facilities include county, state, and federal jails, prisons, and detention centers whose populations may be adult or juvenile, U.S. citizen or noncitizen, sentenced inmates or detainees awaiting judicial proceedings. They may be managed directly by the relevant jurisdiction, run by a private company providing services under contract, or a combination of the two. Case law and historical precedent have established the inmate-patient’s right to healthcare, notably in Estelle v. Gamble and more recently in Brown v. Plata. (Incarcerated individuals served by correctional pharmacists are referred to as inmate-patients in these guidelines; some jurisdictions may prefer other terms.) Correctional facilities should provide, at a minimum, a basic, humane, and appropriate level of healthcare services, consistent with community standards of care and made available to inmate-patients 24 hours a day, as needed. An important component of this basic provision is safe and effective pharmacist-provided patient care. As such, it is recommended that all correctional facilities obtain the services of a pharmacist. The size and scope of individual correctional facilities vary greatly. The concepts, principles, and recommendations contained in this document are intended to be generally applicable. In settings that may not have the ability to obtain the services of one or more full-time pharmacists, part-time, contract, or consultant pharmacists maintain the same basic obligations and responsibilities as their full-time counterparts in larger settings. Correctional pharmacy practice, defined herein, encompasses many aspects of community, hospital, and consultant pharmacy practice while remaining a unique and distinct field of pharmacy practice. These guidelines are intended to address aspects unique to correctional pharmacy practice and detail the valuable clinical services and leadership provided by pharmacists in this arena. Pharmacists who practice in correctional settings are responsible for maintaining familiarity with community standards of care, as well as the Standards for Health Services promulgated by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and the standards of the American Correctional Association. Other pertinent guidelines of ASHP, the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, and the American Correctional Association should be reviewed as well as regulations and laws set by applicable federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Pharmacists who practice in correctional settings must also be familiar with the current literature, laws, and regulations governing confidentiality, consent, and other aspects of correctional healthcare that may differ from standard pharmacy practice. The pharmacy director, in conjunction with the medical director or other responsible health authority and the correctional institution’s administrators, should develop policies and procedures that complement these guidelines and add institution-specific details.