By Richard Forbus, MBA-HCM, CCHP-A
If you’re leading a jail today, you already know the reality.
The population in our facilities is more medically and behaviorally complex than it was even five or ten years ago. We are seeing more individuals with serious mental illness, more substance use disorders and withdrawal, and more chronic disease (often untreated), along with the challenges that accompany them. At the same time, we are managing it all with staffing shortages, tightening budgets, and increasing public scrutiny.
When something goes wrong — especially an in-custody death — the questions come quickly:
• Were policies followed?
• Were checks completed on time?
• Was care provided promptly and correctly?
• Can you prove it?
Recent advances in technology may help address some of these challenges. Technology does not eliminate risk. But when implemented thoughtfully, it can reduce liability exposure, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen defensibility.
1. Monitoring and Tracking: Supporting Staff and Strengthening Documentation
Visual checks are foundational to safety. However, they are vulnerable to fatigue, staffing strain, and documentation gaps — all of which create potential liability.
Today’s monitoring technologies can supplement traditional supervision by tracking location in real time, monitoring vital signs for high-risk individuals, sending alerts when conditions begin to decline, and recording data to demonstrate timeliness of response.
These tools do not replace staff. But when used properly, they reinforce supervision and give leaders stronger documentation when it matters most. From a custody perspective, the value is straightforward: objective documentation of checks, earlier identification of suicide or medical risk, reduced reliance on manual logs, and better prioritization of high-risk housing all enhance safety and reduce risk.
2. Telehealth: Reducing Transports and Operational Disruption
Every custody leader understands the impact of transports, whether inside or outside the facility. They require escorts, create overtime, pull staff from regular operations, and, introduce additional risk.
Telehealth services can reduce the number of unnecessary off-site visits, decrease escort and overtime demands, limit internal movement, expand specialty access, and speed up consultations.
Even modest reductions in transports can translate into meaningful savings — and fewer operational disruptions.
3. Electronic Health Records: Protecting the Agency
Paper systems can undermine defensibility through missing documentation, illegible handwriting, and delayed entries.
Electronic health records strengthen agencies by improving documentation accuracy, creating audit trails, supporting HIPAA compliance, integrating with jail management systems, and generating data that allows for better analysis of system performance and outcomes.
From a custody standpoint, electronic health records enhance the facility’s ability to identify gaps, mitigate risk, and reduce potential liability.
4. Body Scanners: Safety and Deterrence
Contraband — especially narcotics — continues to drive violence, overdoses, and instability inside facilities.
Body scanners are 100% effective at identifying metallic weapons, serve as strong deterrents at intake, provide valuable screening after court or hospital returns, and offer stored images for investigative documentation.
They are not perfect and require consistent training. However, when implemented properly, they improve facility safety and strengthen defensibility.
5. Data and Artificial Intelligence: Leading Proactively
Most jails collect data. Far fewer fully leverage it. When data is used, issues are often identified during after-action analyses or mortality reviews. Data can help identify the series of small incidents that contributed to a critical event.
Modern systems collect valuable information, but they often operate independently of one another. The promise of artificial intelligence lies in its ability to integrate data from multiple systems, analyze trends, and identify potential issues before they escalate into critical incidents.
Technology has the potential to be a game-changing factor in corrections. It is not intended to replace staff, but it can create efficiencies that allow staff to be better deployed and supported in their daily duties. Most importantly, it gives leaders the ability to proactively analyze operations and identify gaps and emerging risks.
When leaders identify trends proactively, they can align staffing and resources with operational needs, strengthen quality improvement efforts, and justify budget requests for necessary resources. Collectively, these efforts reduce liability and make our communities safer.
The future holds significant promise. The potential applications of technology in correctional facilities and their health care systems are just beginning to emerge. Technology can save lives, protect careers, and improve facility operations.
The question is: Where does your facility stand in leveraging technology?
Richard Forbus, MBA-HCM, CCHP-A, is the NCCHC vice president of program development. You can reach Rich through info@ncchcresources.org.