title: Dual loyalty in prison health care.
abstract: Despite the dissemination of principles of medical ethics in prisons, formulated and advocated by numerous international organizations, health care professionals in prisons all over the world continue to infringe these principles because of perceived or real dual loyalty to patients and prison authorities.  Health care professionals and nonmedical prison staff need greater awareness of and training in medical ethics and prisoner human rights. All parties should accept integration of prison health services with public health services.  Health care workers in prison should act exclusively as caregivers, and medical tasks required by the prosecution, court, or security system should be carried out by medical professionals not involved in the care of prisoners.
authors.affiliation: Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice and Medical University Vienna, Austria. joerg.pont@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pont
authors.forename: Heino
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stöver
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wolff
mesh_terms: D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000941:ethics* / Q000458:organization & administration; D032984:Ethics, Research; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D011330:Prisons; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics