title: Prisoners in the emergency department.
abstract: Eight issues in the care of prisoners in the ED have been examined. Close to one-half million persons are incarcerated at any time in the United States, and the numbers can be expected to increase. When seeing prisoners in the ED, the physician must keep in mind two facts: 1) prisoners have a right to medical care; and 2) incarceration demands that certain considerations be made regarding the correctional environment when evaluating, treating and, most importantly, discharging a prisoner back to the cell.
mesh_terms: D004635:Emergency Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency; D007883:Legislation, Medical; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D011247:Pregnancy; D011329:Prisoners; D011330:Prisons; D014481:United States