Medical and Psychological Care

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Correctional Institutions and Inmates
  4. Inmates
  5. Regulation and Care of Inmates
  6. Medical and Psychological Care

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  1. All inmates at their reception and at such times thereafter as may be deemed necessary shall be examined by a physician for the purpose of determining their health status.
  2. The medical director shall conduct a daily outpatient clinic. Any inmate who is ill shall receive proper medical treatment.
    1. The physician shall, acting under and subject to the power of the commissioner of correction, visit the penitentiary in the discharge of duties as often as necessary, prescribe for inmates who are sick, and attend to the regimen, clothing and cleanliness of those who are in the hospital and report to the commissioner any failure on the part of the warden to provide fully for their necessary wants.
      1. The physician shall provide pregnant prisoners and detainees with regular prenatal and postpartum medical care, as necessary.
      2. All prisoners and detainees potentially affected by this subdivision (c)(2) must be advised in writing of the requirements of this subdivision (c)(2), and of § 41-21-227(h), upon admission to the correctional institution and when known to be pregnant.
      3. As used in this subdivision (c)(2):
        1. “Correctional institution” means any facility under the authority of any state, county, or municipal government that has the power to detain or restrain, or both, a person under the laws of this state;
        2. “Detainee” means any person detained under the immigration laws of the United States at any correctional institution;
        3. “Postpartum” means the six-week period, or longer as determined by the healthcare professional responsible for the prisoner or detainee's health care, immediately following delivery, stillbirth, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, or other non-live birth outcome;
        4. “Prenatal care” includes pregnancy testing, medical examinations, laboratory and diagnostic tests, including offering HIV testing and prophylaxis when indicated, advice on appropriate levels of activity, safety precautions, nutritional guidance and counseling, routine and high-risk care, management of chemical dependencies, comprehensive counseling and assistance, prescription of appropriate nutritional supplements, and postpartum follow up; and
        5. “Prisoner” means any person incarcerated or detained in any correctional institution who is accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program.
    3. The physician shall keep a regular journal, to be left in the penitentiary, stating the time of all admissions to the hospital, the nature of the disease, the treatment of each patient, and the time of the patient's discharge from the hospital or of the patient's death.
    4. The physician shall keep a register of all the inmates under the physician's charge, stating their diseases, the cause of the diseases when practicable and the state of their health on entering and leaving the hospital. The physician shall also keep a register of all infirm inmates, giving their names, ages, places of birth and the particular infirmity of each. The register shall always remain in the hospital, open to inspection.
  4. The commissioner may remove the inmates in the penitentiary to such place of security in this state as the commissioner may think best, if, in the commissioner's opinion, the prevalence of any epidemic, infectious or contagious disorder or other urgent occasion renders it expedient and proper.
  5. Any inmate who is sick at the expiration of the term of imprisonment shall not be discharged until the inmate's health is restored, except at the inmate's request.
    1. To the extent necessary, the department of correction may contract with the department of mental health and substance abuse services or the department of intellectual and developmental disabilities to ensure that psychological services are available at an adequate level and quality for all inmates who are in the department's custody and who are in need of those services but who do not qualify for a transfer from the department of correction as provided in title 33, chapter 3, part 4.
    2. The department of correction shall exercise due diligence to protect the safety of any person rendering psychological services at a departmental facility.
    3. “Psychological services,” as used in this subsection (f), includes evaluation and treatment for chemical dependency, psychological disorders and intellectual disability.

Code 1858, §§ 5461, 5484-5487 (deriv. Acts 1829, ch. 38, §§ 14, 23), 5527; Acts 1883, ch. 171, § 24; impl. am. Acts 1895 (Ex. Sess.), ch. 7, § 21; impl. am. Acts 1897, ch. 125, § 1; impl. am. Acts 1915, ch. 20, § 9; Shan., §§ 7478, 7502-7506; impl. am. Acts 1919, ch. 39, §§ 1, 2; impl. am. Acts 1923, ch. 7, § 42; Code 1932, §§ 12076, 12097-12101; impl. am. Acts 1955, ch. 102, § 1; Acts 1972, ch. 576, §§ 13, 14; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), §§ 41-312 — 41-316, 41-318, 41-319; Acts 1986, ch. 483, § 1; 2000, ch. 947, § 6; 2010, ch. 734, § 1; 2010, ch. 1100, § 70; 2012, ch. 575, § 1; 2020, ch. 762, § 1.

Compiler's Notes. For the Preamble to the act regarding changing the term “mental retardation” to “intellectual disability”, please refer to Acts 2010, ch. 734.


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