This series is directed to healthcare professionals who are leading the transfor- tion of health care by using information and knowledge to advance the quality of patient care. Launched in 1988 as Computers in Health Care, the series offers a broad range of titles: some are addressed to speci?c professions such as nursing, medicine, and health administration; others to special areas of practice such as trauma and radiology. Still other books in this series focus on interdisciplinary issues, such as the computer-based patient record, electronic health records, and networked healthcare systems. Renamed Health Informatics in 1998 to re?ect the rapid evolution in the discipline now known as health informatics, the series continues to add titles that contribute to the evolution of the ?eld. In this series, eminent experts, serving as editors or authors, offer their accounts of innovation in health informatics. Incre- ingly, these accounts go beyond hardware and software to address the role of information in in?uencing the transformation of healthcare delivery systems around the world. The series also increasingly focuses on “peopleware” and the organi- tional, behavioral, and societal changes that accompany the diffusion of infor- tion technology in health services environments.

The United States correctional system is facing an urgent crisis in how to meet the health care needs of its prisoners. As the number of inmates in correctional facilities increases, prisons struggle to adequately address health care needs in a financially feasible way. Many prisoners enter the system with medical problems that have gone unmet, and the toxic environments inside the prisons further compromise their health, causing serious problems both within the prisons themselves and in society as a whole when the prisoners are released. Health and Health Care in the Nation's Prisons presents a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the health care challenges facing today's prisons along with concrete recommendations for change. In addition toan overview of the most common prison health care problems, this book provides a unique assessment of the needs of largely-overlooked prison populations, including women, people of color, and older adults. Authors Melvin Delgado and Denise Humm-Delgado cover high profile health care needs, such as substance abuse and mental illness, as well as lower profile needs like hepatitis and STDs. They also provide essential background information on the development of today's crisis by tracing the history of theU.S. health care system and how it has changed over time to meet social needs.