Texas prisons try telemedicine to curb spending

Telemedicine connects prisoners, who are often housed in remote areas, with medical experts throughout the state of Texas.

It’s just one way that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is trying to control spending on prison health care. But while telemedicine has shown some success in curbing spending, it hasn’t been enough to stem rising costs due to an aging prison population. About 100,000 telemedicine encounters take place in Texas state prisons each year. Dr. Owen Murray, Vice President of Offender Health Services at the University of Texas Medical Branch points to a combination of strategies used to lower costs in Texas prisons. He said telemedicine, along with electronic medical records, preferred drug lists and adherence to disease-management guidelines, have curbed spending while improving access to care.