June 15, 2001 - Vol.32, No.24 - Measuring Outcomes Gives Direction To Health Care Programs In 2 States

Sep 29, 2026

June 15, 2001 issue Vol.32, No.24 focuses on measuring health-care outcomes to guide correctional interventions in Florida and Georgia. It outlines how outcomes-based research is expected to determine the scope of health programs and notes limited data on effectiveness. Case details explain how Florida’s directly observed therapy strategy for HIV/AIDS and Georgia’s similar approach improved adherence and clinical results. It also highlights training in Missouri’s new computer program.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

IN THIS ISSUE

IN THE COURTS

ACROSS THE STATES

FUNDING

Measuring Outcomes Gives Direction To Health Care Programs In 2 States

9 INMATES FINISH NEW TRAINING IN MISSOURI

June 15,2001 Vol.32,No.24 # IN THIS ISSUE Missouri's New ProgramComputer Training…… …2U.S.Judge Lets New YorkOfficers Press Safety Issue..24 States Take Varying StandsOn Retarded Inmates………3Utah Eyes Early Release ToCut Budget,Ease Crowding.3Violent Crime Dives 15%To Reach Record Low………3BJS Offers Prison Data………4BJS Analyzes Sheriff Data..4Law Memorial Cites 313……4 # IN THE COURTS Justices Issue Diverse RulingsIn Two Death Row Cases....4 ## ACROSS THE STATES Florida,IHlinois……………5Kentucky,Louisiana………5Massachusetts…………………5Michigan,Miss.,M………6 N.Y,R.I,S.C.,Texas.………6West Virginia………………7 DEATH ROW…………Ohio,Texas,U.S…………7 FUNDING ## 17 Grants For Projects DealingWith Youth Trauma…………7 CorrectionSDIGEST The only independent news service for the corrections professional # Measuring Outcomes Gives DirectionTo Health Care Programs In 2 States Outcomes based research and data measurements may soon emerge as the driving force behindcorrectional health care,ultimatelydetermining the size and scope ofhealth related interventions andprograms within correctional insti-tutions. Two states,Florida and Geor-gia,have already introduced out-comes-based health care to thebenefit of inmates and each state'scorrections budget. As more money is poured intocorrectional health care,there isgrowing interest in conducting re-search that analyzes systems andprocedures and seeks to measuretheir results. State,federal and local govern-ments spend more than $5 billion ayear on correctional health care,ac-cording to some estimates. Yet,very little data exist dem-onstrating the effectiveness or eventhe appropriateness of health careinterventions. Nevertheless,some correctionalsystems and institutions have beenable to push ahead,putting in placesystems of care and creating thenecessary infrastructures to supportthose systems of care. In Florida,for example,the De- partmentofCorrectionsimple-mented directly observed therapy(DOT)for all of its HIV/AIDS pa-tients on combination therapies in1996,a practice that initially ex-pended more time and money.In1998,correctional officials initiatedn two-year study to measure the ef-fectiveness of DOT for patients onthe combination drug regimens.The results surprised even the mostardent supporters of DOT. Officials studied 84 patientstaking one of three commonly usedHIV combination regimens from1998 to 2000,assigning 42 patientsto a self-administered medicationgroup and the other 42 patients to aDOT group. During the two year period.re-searchers consistently found that theDOT group registered viral loadlevels twice as low as those in theself administered group,justifyingthe decision to adopt DOT for HIVmedications despite the added timeand money involved. "We expected the DOT patientsto do better by a significant mar-gin,"says David Thomas,MD,Di-rector of Health Services for theFlorida Department of Corrections."But the magnitude of the differ-ence was surprising." A follow up study conducted in2000 confirmed the findings of thefirst study.Not surprisingly,the fol-low up study found that simplerregimens led to better adherence,meaning that adherence with HIVmedications will become less of anissue as regimens become less com-plicated and easier to take duringthe next few years,Thomas said. The results of both studies,pre-sented this year and last year at theannual Congress of Antiretroviralsand Opportunistic Infections,had asignificant impact,convincing manyinstitutions to at least consider thepossibility of implementing directlyobserved therapy for HIV medica-tions,Thomas says. In Georgia,meanwhile,thestate Department of Correctionsadopted directly observed therapyfor HIV medications in 1997,amove that led to 100 percent adher-ence among HIV patients and fur-ther improved clinical outcomes,says Joe Paris,MD,Ph.D.,MedicalDirector of the Georgia Departmentof Corrections. “It is now statistically signifi-cant that HIV care has producedoutcomes that are better than any-thing

FAQs

What is the main idea behind measuring outcomes in correctional health care?

Outcomes-based research and data measurements are presented as a way to guide the size, scope, and appropriateness of health-related interventions within correctional institutions.

How did directly observed therapy (DOT) affect HIV treatment outcomes in Florida?

A two-year study found the DOT group had viral load levels about twice as low as those in the self-administered group, supporting DOT despite added time and money.

What happened after Georgia adopted DOT for HIV medications?

Georgia reported 100% adherence among HIV patients and further improved clinical outcomes, including fewer opportunistic infections and fewer deaths in custody due to HIV.

Sep 29, 2026

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