NaphCare Lands New Medical Service Contracts

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — NaphCare Inc. has reached an agreement with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department (SCSD) to manage medical services at the House of Corrections.

NaphCare is an independent provider of comprehensive correctional health care and corrections-based technology services. The new contract with SCSD will be effective immediately.

“We are excited to begin a partnership with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department and in the State of Massachusetts,” said NaphCare CEO James S. McLane in a statement. “This is an opportunity for NaphCare to utilize our experience, our system and our philosophy of providing the highest quality inmate health care to serve the county.”

Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department had previously been in contract with Corizon Correctional Medical Services. The new 18-month contract with NaphCare has the sheriff’s department optimistic about the new venture.

“SCSD is the largest Sheriff’s Office in the Northeast. We take our responsibility to provide quality inmate medical and mental health care very seriously,” said Sheriff Andrea Cabral in a statement. “We needed qualified medical professionals who could execute a smooth transition with no gap in services and wanted a provider as committed to quality inmate health care as we are. We chose NaphCare.”

The current contract gives NaphCare its third partner with the Massachusetts county sheriff’s department as the comprehensive medical partner and its fifth contract within the state of Massachusetts.

NaphCare is currently partnered with Essex County Sheriff’s Department, Worcester County Sheriff’s Department, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center facility in Devens.

NaphCare has a strong presence in Massachusetts and has brought new technology to Suffolk County.

“In the midst of the evolving correctional health care marketplace, NaphCare is proud to work alongside SCSD to create a proactive and effective health care system within the House of Corrections,” said McLane in a statement. “Utilizing our professional leadership team and the tools of our TechCare system, we will offer Suffolk County a higher level of risk management to help them manage their inmate patient population.”

The new TechCare system features a customized electronic medical records system that the county is eagerly anticipating. The system also will track, organize, share and create immediate benefits to serve approximately 2,000 inmates in SCSD’s custody.

“We are looking forward to fully exploring the benefits of a customized electronic medical records system,” said Sheriff Cabral. “It is a tremendous tool for the risk management of all inmate medical and mental health issues.”

The TechCare Clinical Operations System, developed by NaphCare will help give Suffolk County a complete medical record and electronic medication administration record built into the software, offering Suffolk County a proven risk management, auditing, patient care and data collection solution, according to a NaphCare.

Managing Medical Records

NaphCare has also recently decided to enter a $4.55 million, five-year contract with Maricopa County, Ariz., jails to develop an electronic medical records system for county inmates.

Maricopa County has had a long history of inadequate medical care at its jails — including outdated medical record keeping. In 2008 the county’s Correctional Health Services lost its accreditation due to the health care issues. Experts have recommended that the county install a central electronic-records system to have better maintenance of inmates’ medical information.

This isn’t the first attempt for the county to install an electronic medical records system. After outside pressures, as well as realizing the program would be beneficial — The Board of Supervisors authorized the installation of a free software program in 2011 in order to help manage inmates’ medical records — however, the software wasn’t compatible with the jail computer systems, according to Cari Gerchick, county spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office and Correctional Health Services.

Now the new NaphCare contract has the task of carrying on the counties previous wishes of having a complete electronic medical records system for the county jails.

Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox said she hoped the new system would take the county closer to achieving accreditation again, which would show that county jails are up to national health care standards.

Wilcox also said that with the updated electronic records system it would lower the county’s risk for other lawsuits and help by keeping an organized and modern approach to record keeping.