Providing Equitable Surgical Care to Patients in Law Enforcement Custody: A Review

Approximately 2 million individuals are incarcerated in the US. Surgical needs increase with age, and an aging prison population means an increasing need for surgical care for incarcerated individuals. Challenges in logistics, privacy, communication, and comorbidities put people in law enforcement custody at risk for suboptimal care and outcomes. Little guidance exists for surgeons seeking to provide equitable care for these patients.

No national statistics are available on the need for surgery among incarcerated people. Autopsy data suggest that nearly a quarter of deaths among incarcerated individuals were attributable to causes that could have been treated with surgery, yet few received surgical care before death. Across the spectrum of custody, including police detention, jail, prison, probation, and parole, access to consistent preoperative and postoperative care are major challenges, as is sustaining appropriate levels of privacy and communication. Incarcerated people are often accompanied by guards, preventing privacy. Patients are shackled to hospital beds, restricting mobility. For incarcerated individuals, access to postoperative medication may be curtailed when they return to jail or prison. To be effective advocates for patient-centered care and to achieve the best outcomes, surgeons must remain vigilant to specific barriers to care.

Individuals in law enforcement custody have particular needs regarding communication, surgical planning, and perioperative and postoperative care. Clinicians must remain alert to these challenges and serve as advocates for these marginalized patients, even adjusting their care practices. Professional societies and health systems can bolster care for this marginalized population by developing and disseminating guidelines and pathways for patient-centered surgical care for individuals in law enforcement custody.