§ 12-29-401 - Medical care. - Arkansas Statutes

12-29-401. Medical care.

(a) The Department of Correction shall establish and shall prescribe standards for health, medical, mental health, and dental services for each institution, including preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures on both an outpatient and inpatient basis for all types of patients.

(b) An inmate may be taken, when necessary, to a medical facility outside the institution, but the Director of the Department of Correction shall provide ample safeguards for the custody of the inmate while confined in a medical facility outside the institution.

(c) The Board of Corrections is authorized to establish and maintain facilities for health, medical, mental health, and dental services for each institution in the Department of Correction and the Department of Community Correction, including preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic measures on both an outpatient and inpatient basis for all types of patients, and to hire physicians and other health care professionals.

(d) (1) The Department of Correction and the Department of Community Correction shall have access to and may obtain copies of all medical records pertaining to any person incarcerated in a facility of either of those departments, including, but not limited to, test results, treatment records, and examination reports generated prior to the commitment of the person to the Department of Correction or the Department of Community Correction or based on medical care received by the person outside the Department of Correction or the Department of Community Correction during the period of the person's incarceration, regardless of whether the person consents to the release of the information.

(2) (A) Any entity or person in possession of such records or information has a duty to disclose it to the Department of Correction or the Department of Community Correction upon written request by the Director of the Department of Correction or his or her designee or the Director of the Department of Community Correction or his or her designee, provided that the Department of Correction and the Department of Community Correction shall put in place the privacy and security provisions required by federal law and provide assurances of compliance, in writing, to the entity or person to whom the written request is made.

(B) Additionally, the requesting entity or person shall provide assurances in the written request that provisions of state laws which require heightened security and privacy will be complied with.

(3) Any information obtained pursuant to this section shall be used only for treatment purposes, to enable the Department of Correction and the Department of Community Correction to assign the incarcerated person to the correct unit or to enable the Department of Correction or the Department of Community Correction to file insurance claims, if applicable.

(4) Any hospital, clinic, medical office, or other such entity and the owners, officers, directors, employees, or agents of such entity, or any other person who, in good faith, furnishes any records or information to the Department of Correction or the Department of Community Correction pursuant to this subsection shall be immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed in the absence of this subsection.