Abstract
The preparation and dispensing of medication in prisons or jails are critical for individuals to access their treatment. This process is resource-intensive for healthcare professionals and may violate principles of confidentiality, autonomy, respect, and dignity if non-qualified staff are involved. However, there are no published best practices on the topic. This report aims to bridge this gap by presenting the results of a mapping exercise on different models of medication preparation and dispensing. Authors call upon healthcare professionals to enrich this live document to inform health services research further and improve access to prescribed medications for people experiencing incarceration.
Highlights
Individuals experiencing incarceration carry a high burden of physical and mental health conditions[1–4]
The objective of this paper is to present a live inventory of different approaches to medication preparation and dispensing in prisons
First, we looked for published literature on different modalities of medication preparation and dispensing
Summary
Individuals experiencing incarceration carry a high burden of physical and mental health conditions[1–4]. Medication preparation and dispensing should only engage qualified healthcare professionals This process is notably intensive and can take away resources from other clinically meaningful activities, such as individual patient visits and health promotion and prevention activities. In smaller detention facilities (less than 100 occupants), which usually have limited healthcare staff, prison officers or even prisoners can be involved in medication preparation and dispensing[6]. Such practices violate the principles of confidentiality, autonomy, respect, dignity, and quality of care. Prison officers and incarcerated individuals were found in Greece to work as orderlies (i.e., persons trained in first aid and selected healthcare tasks, such as the dispensing of medications, under the supervision of nurses)[8]. In Norway, nurses were present daily, custodial officers had the duty to dispense prescribed medications[9]
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