Globally, healthcare provision for people living in incarceration is associated with numerous challenges. This chapter explores telemedicine as an opportunity to overcome the barriers to quality health services in Malaysian prisons. We conducted a narrative review of existing studies to understand if telemedicine can increase health care access and meet the need of the prisoners. As the concept of telemedicine is still novel but has high policy relevance in Malaysia, we went through Ministry of Health and Prison Department reports; as well as WHO and UNODC resources on prison healthcare. Additionally, we shared our real-life experience from working in prison settings to discuss the pros and cons of implementing telemedicine. Telemedicine can enable healthcare providers to diagnose, monitor, and treat patients remotely. By making an alternate provision for prisoners’ transportation to external medical facilities, telemedicine minimises security risks, reduces costs, and enhances safety. Telemedicine can facilitate access to a wide range of specialties, including psychiatry, cardiology, and dermatology, which are often difficult to provide on-site due to limited resources. Despite these advantages, the implementation of telemedicine in prison healthcare is not without challenges, including concerns about patient privacy, infrastructure requirements, regulatory limitations, and the need for specialised staff training.

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Telemedicine: The Game Changer in Future Prison Healthcare Setting

  • Rumana Saifi,
  • Yilu Qin

摘要

Globally, healthcare provision for people living in incarceration is associated with numerous challenges. This chapter explores telemedicine as an opportunity to overcome the barriers to quality health services in Malaysian prisons. We conducted a narrative review of existing studies to understand if telemedicine can increase health care access and meet the need of the prisoners. As the concept of telemedicine is still novel but has high policy relevance in Malaysia, we went through Ministry of Health and Prison Department reports; as well as WHO and UNODC resources on prison healthcare. Additionally, we shared our real-life experience from working in prison settings to discuss the pros and cons of implementing telemedicine. Telemedicine can enable healthcare providers to diagnose, monitor, and treat patients remotely. By making an alternate provision for prisoners’ transportation to external medical facilities, telemedicine minimises security risks, reduces costs, and enhances safety. Telemedicine can facilitate access to a wide range of specialties, including psychiatry, cardiology, and dermatology, which are often difficult to provide on-site due to limited resources. Despite these advantages, the implementation of telemedicine in prison healthcare is not without challenges, including concerns about patient privacy, infrastructure requirements, regulatory limitations, and the need for specialised staff training.