David Medical Services - Patient Safety in Prisons

Female health care provider performing an eye exam on a male patient.

Initial Health Assessments: Getting It Right from the Start

David Medical ServicesNovember 8, 2023Standard of care Medical Management in Prisons, Patient Safety

(Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on initial health assessments.) Nelson Mandela Rule #30 says something that to us might seem obvious:

The Need for Independent Healthcare Staff in Prisons 

David Medical ServicesOctober 24, 2023 Medical Management in Prisons, Quality of Care in Prisons

Marquette Cummings died an egregious death—not because of how he died, but rather who killed him. After being stabbed in the eye by another incarcerated

Metal Sculpture at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site in Howick, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

We Already Know What to Do: The Nelson Mandela Rules

David Medical ServicesOctober 6, 2023 Medical Management in Prisons, Quality of Care in Prisons

Our correctional medicine experts are often asked to opine on cases involving injury and death at the hands of negligent (and sometimes deliberately harmful) medical

Lower half of a person's face, covered in orange and yellow swirls to depict heat.

“Hotter than Three Hells”: Heat-Related Deaths in Prison

David Medical ServicesAugust 5, 2023Standard of care Patient Safety, Quality of Care in Prisons

On December 7, 2020, 44-year-old Thomas Rutledge was found unresponsive in the mental health ward of William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama. His

Woman holding magnifying glass up to her left eye

Correctional Oversight Systems: Who’s Watching the Watchers?

David Medical ServicesJuly 26, 2023Standard of care Patient Safety, Quality of Care in Prisons

"The simple presence of an outside observer changes what happens inside a prison environment. It also can show us who we really are.” Michele Dietch From 2001

An attorney converses with her client regarding deliberate indifference.

What Exactly is “Cruel and Unusual”?

David Medical ServicesFebruary 1, 2023physician expert witness Quality of Care in Prisons

NOTE: This post is not intended to give legal advice or political commentary. David Medical Services, PLLC is not involved with political activism. “Excessive bail

The Responsible Health Authority in Correctional Healthcare

David Medical ServicesOctober 25, 2022Standard of care Medical Management in Prisons, Patient Safety, Quality of Care in Prisons

Correctional healthcare, like care in the community, involves a patient and a doctor who meet in an examination room. The patient voices his or her

Improving Chronic Pain Management in Prisons and Jails (Part 2 of 2)

David Medical ServicesSeptember 14, 2022Chronic pain, pain management Medical Management in Prisons, Quality of Care in Prisons

Even though chronic pain management in a correctional environment is challenging, standard of care in correctional practice is that chronic pain must be responsibly managed