Forensic Information - National Commission on Correctional Health Care
Search
Close this search box.

Forensic Information

I-03 Forensic Information (important)

Health services staff are prohibited from participating in the collection of forensic information.
—2008 Standards for Health Services for jails and prisons

Health staff are often asked by correctional staff to conduct tasks that might give them pause. For instance, perhaps someone has smuggled pills into the facility and custody asks a nurse to identify them. The primary question to ask is whether the act is medically necessary for the safety of the patient. If there is a risk that the individual is under the influence of an unknown drug, then health staff should identify the pill to determine what actions might be needed for the benefit of the patient’s health. On the other hand, if health staff are being asked to identify pills to help in charging the individual, they would do well to resist.

NCCHC’s standard on forensic information (G-04) requires that health services staff are prohibited from participating in the collection of forensic information. This is a topic on which we often receive questions due to the impact that such activity would have on patient–health staff relationships. NCCHC defines forensic information as physical or psychological data collected from an incarcerated individual that may be used against them in disciplinary or legal proceedings. Such acts are usually performed without the individual’s consent.

There are some exceptions to the prohibition. An example is when health staff are complying with state laws that require blood samples, as long as there is consent and health staff are not involved in any punitive action taken if the individual does not participate in the collection (Compliance Indicator 2).

The Rationale

The intent of the standard is to ensure that the role of health staff is to serve their patients’ health needs. This means maintaining ethical boundaries and ensuring that the patient–health staff relationship is not jeopardized. Ethical conflicts arise when health staff take part in activities aimed at producing evidence that has negative consequences. Think about it: A patient is not likely to want to see health staff for a health need if that person has helped to collect evidence. This can have bearing on access to care (see Standard A-01) by creating unreasonable barriers and deterring patients from seeking health services.

For similar reasons, the NCCHC standard on executions (P-I-06) prohibits health staff from participating in executions. The ethical dilemma here relates to the same principle of maintaining an appropriate professional relationship with patients. The preservation of the therapeutic role is paramount in both the F-04 and G-06 standards.

Some facilities use the services of nonstaff or outside health professionals to collect forensic information, or someone on staff who is not in a therapeutic relationship with the patient. Other options for accomplishing such tasks include using corrections staff to conduct oral and buccal swabs for DNA and urine testing for drug use, and using a dry cell as an alternative to body cavity searches.

Although the Forensic Information standard is classified as “important,” meaning that it is possible to achieve accreditation without meeting this standard, its significance should not be dismissed. Health staff should be educated about ethical boundaries in correctional facilities, and communication with correctional staff on these issues can help both groups to understand the intent of this standard. Orientation and in-services are opportunities to emphasize the concepts of what a correctional health professional’s role is in providing services to patients.

[This article first appeared in the Spring 2010 issue of CorrectCare.]

Forensic Information

Standard I-03 Forensic Information does allow for health staff to collect evidence from the inmate-victim with his or her consent. If evidence is collected on-site, then standard B-05 Response to Sexual Abuse elaborates more on the requirements for in-house procedures. One other standard to consider is B-04 Federal Sexual Abuse Regulations, which requires facilities to have written policies and procedures regarding the detection, prevention and reduction of rape consistent with the Prison Rape Elimination Act. [Note: This reply is accurate for both the 2008 and 2014 editions of the Standards, although the standard names used are from the 2014 edition.]

— From CorrectCare Volume 28, Issue 2, Spring 2014

This answer assumes the worker’s comp manager and community infectious disease office wanted the health staff to collect the blood sample with the intention of sharing the results with the officer involved. If so, then the standards that would be involved are J-H-02 Confidentiality of Health Records and J-I-05 Informed Consent and Right to Refuse. The collection of a blood sample to test for HIV is a medical procedure and the results are confidential. Therefore, the inmate would need to consent in writing to the procedure and sign a consent allowing the release of the information to the requesting parties. Standard J-I-03 would apply only if the information being collected may be used against the inmate in disciplinary or legal proceedings.

— From CorrectCare Volume 27, Issue 4, Fall 2013

First we must ask ourselves what is the purpose of conducting a pre segregation assessment? What is the purpose of conducting an evaluation after the use of force? Such evaluations are generally performed for the benefit of the patient to ensure that he or she does not suffer from injuries as a result of the altercation. Hence, this medical information needs to be protected in the same manner as any other medical information. NCCHC holds to the same community standard of care when it comes to protecting confidential patient information.

The second question that has to be raised is what “data” is being requested? If it is information that breeches the patient–physician confidential bond, then it should not be released. However, if it is information that notifies security that there is or is not a contradictory reason to place the inmate in segregation, then yes, that is allowed. A patient release of information should be obtained if more information is required (photos, drawings, description of injuries or description of the event).

— From CorrectCare Volume 27, Issue 1, Winter 2013

You are correct; standard J-I-03 intends that health staff serve the health needs of their patients, and this means that they should not gather forensic information because of the professional and ethical conflicts in taking actions that (a) are typically done without inmate consent, (b) could lead to adversarial action against the patient and (c) undermine professional credibility.

Some states require that certain forensics-related acts be conducted by health professionals; in those cases, the services should be provided by a staff member who is not involved in that patient’s care or by an outside party. That said, the standard does make an exception in Compliance Indicator 1. To summarize, health services staff may participate in the following circumstances:

State law requires a blood sample, so long as the inmate consents and health staff are not involved in punitive action if the inmate refuses to consent
A physician orders a body cavity search or blood/urine testing for medical purposes (e.g., to test for alcohol or drugs in the blood)
With inmate consent, conducting court-ordered lab tests, exams or radiology procedures
With inmate consent, gathering evidence from a victim of sexual assault
Finally, you should educate security officials that many techniques for collecting forensic information do not require health expertise. These include urine testing and oral and buccal swabs for DNA testing.

— From CorrectCare Volume 24, Issue 4, Winter 2010

Assuming that the test was for clinical purposes (and it should have been, as per standard I-03 Forensic Information), the results should be used for clinical reasons only. You may share with the appropriate officials your concern that the substance may be present in the prison so that they can look into the possible security breach. However, the inmate’s identity must be protected. To avoid conflict or pressure from custody, health services policies and procedures should address the role of health staff in such an event and the warden and custody staff should have a clear understanding of this role. (See A-03 Medical Autonomy and H-02 Confidentiality of Health Records.)

— From CorrectCare Volume 24, Issue 3, Summer 2010

NCCHC is not expert in state regulations or standards. We base our reply on the 2003 NCCHC Standards for Health Services in Jails. Standard J-I-03 Forensic Information prohibits health services staff from participating in the collection of forensic information based on the bioethical principle of protecting the patient-provider relationship. When health staff are involved in collecting information for punitive matters (and which is usually done without an inmate’s consent), the therapeutic relationship with the inmate is jeopardized. The health services staff should protect their ethical boundaries to serve the health needs of their patients first. The credibility of health staff with their patients should never be compromised.

If the state requires that such acts be performed by health professionals, the facility should use the services of outside providers or someone on staff who is not involved in the therapeutic relationship. If neither of those options is possible, health services staff may comply with state laws and take forensic blood samples so long as the inmate gives consent and, if the inmate refuses to participate, health services staff are not involved in any punitive action taken as a result of the refusal.

— From CorrectCare Volume 22, Issue 1, Winter 2008

The answer relates to standards A-08 Communication on Special Needs Patients and I-03 Forensic Information. The responsible physician decides how health services will respond. Usually the physician is the staff member to determine what would prohibit an inmate from being sprayed because of possible negative consequences. The determination may be done at the time of the incident, or it may be done routinely as part of the initial health assessment, with a notation in the same place in each health chart. The wording of the “clearance” should be simply that there is or is not any health contraindication to the use of pepper spray for the inmate. The physician is not giving an order for the spray nor saying that it is OK to use it.

All health and custody staff should be able to reference a written protocol as to any health intervention required after the spray is used. Any inmates who do receive pepper spray are taken to medical staff for appropriate interventions.

You imply that health staff may not participate in disciplinary proceedings. Actually, health staff may consult in disciplinary hearings or decisions provided that they do not make the decision. In such cases, health staff, including mental health staff, should indicate whether any health or mental health condition may have contributed to the behavior in question. Health staff also may alert custody to the potential negative effects on the inmate of the proposed disciplinary action, and to help find appropriate alternate measures if the disciplinary action is contraindicated.

— From CorrectCare Volume 21, Issue 4, Fall 2007

The NCCHC standards do not address services for or interactions with non-inmates. We suggest that if you do draw the samples, you do so only with the individual’s consent, just as you would for an inmate. Your system may want to consider buccal DNA sampling, which is easily done by trained non-health staff.

— From CorrectCare Volume 20, Issue 3, Summer 2006

NCCHC standards require that you conduct your clinical practice as you would in any other setting, modifying nonclinical issues as required by the correctional setting but not compromising your clinical guidelines.

Health staff in facilities accredited by NCCHC are often cautious about substance abuse testing, being mindful of standard I-03 Forensic Information and the need to avoid getting into potential adversarial situations with inmates they are trying to treat.

However, your intent is a clinical one: to assess a substance-abusing inmate for diagnostic and treatment planning purposes. An important caution is that the results of such testing are not to be shared with corrections; results should be treated with the same confidentiality as any other blood or urine testing and recorded in the medical record.

— From CorrectCare Volume 20, Issue 2, Spring 2006