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malities in these measurements. Although these devices
are mainly targeted at the consumer market, they could
be adapted for use in jails, allowing inmates to receive
high-touch, high-quality care from their cells.

Conclusion
and For jails, this pandemic has made one thing clear:
remind business as usual won’t cut it. It’s almost certain that
wearers to jails and prisons will face a new level of scrutiny
keep a safe around the spread of infectious disease going for-
distance from ward, whether it’s COVID-19, TB, MRSA, or the next
each other. These pandemic. To prepare for this new normal, jails must
devices often come bring their infection-prevention methods into the 21st
with analytics packages century. New technologies have enormous potential
to help managers tag high- to help lower rates of infection in jails, not only mak-
traffic areas for extra cleaning and identify those who ing them safer for inmates, but also for the essential
have been exposed to an infected individual. workers who risk their lives for the good of their
While contact tracing devices likely require more communities.
efficacy testing, they could prove to be a critical tool in Not too far from now, with the right technologies,
managing disease outbreaks moving forward. So far, protocols, and leadership from law enforcement and
manufacturers are generally marketing these devices corrections staff, disease outbreaks in jails may become
to the corporate world, but the application potential in a relic. 
jails and prisons is clear.
References
Digital Platforms for Health Assessment and More Bick, J. A. (2007). Infection control in jails and prisons. Clinical
This pandemic has shown the upside of incorporat- Infectious Diseases, 45(8), 1047–1055. doi:10.1086/521910
ing digital platforms and tools into the often old-school Bioscience Laboratories, Inc. (2020). Study report: R-Zero arc
record-keeping infrastructure of jails. While fast and performance validated by independent laboratory testing
accurate information collection and sharing are vital [PDF]. San Francisco: R-Zero Systems, Inc.
during a pandemic, the vast majority of correctional Carlisle, M., & Bates, J. (2020, December 28). COVID-19 has
facilities in the United States still use analog systems devastated the U.S. prison and jail population. Time.
to record the bulk of their information. These systems Retrieved from https://time.com
are slow and error-prone. In addition, and the ability to Hebden, J. N., & Fauerbach, L. L. (2019). Continuously active
share data both internally and with local public health disinfection: Minimizing the role of surface and equip-
departments is often difficult. ment recontamination in the transmission of healthcare
pathogens [PDF]. Woodcliff Lake: PDH Health care.
Digitized jail-documentation platforms are starting
to gain traction, and, in light of the pandemic, many Prison Policy Initiative. (2020). Local jails: The real scandal is
the churn. Retrieved from www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/
are offering remote health assessment solutions. These pie2019_jail_churn.html
tools allow correctional officers to complete remote, Klevens, R. M., Edwards, J. R., Richards, C. L., Horan, T.
digital questionnaires on an inmate’s symptoms. If the C., Gaynes, R. P., Pollock, D. A., & Cardo, D. M. (2007).
inmate shows signs of COVID-19, the questionnaire Estimating health care-associated infections and deaths in
flags the inmate for isolation and testing. Such a system U.S. hospitals, 2002. Public Health Reports, 122(2), 160–166.
minimizes contact while keeping lines of communica- doi:10.1177/003335490712200205
tion open. Similar remote-screening tools are often Schwartzapfel, B., Park, K., & Demillo, A. (2020,
available for correctional officers through their local December 18). 1 in 5 prisoners in the U.S. has had
hospitals. COVID-19. Retrieved from www.themarshallproject.
Remote care technologies are only improving. We’re org/2020/12/18/1-in-5-prisoners-in-the-u-s-has-had-
now seeing the launch of remote medical kits that make covid-19
it possible for care providers to take detailed measure-
ments of the lungs, throat, and ears at a distance by
using modular attachments. In some instances, AI Charles Hammond is President of Command Sourcing, Inc.
diagnostic capabilities can automatically detect abnor- He can be contacted at charles@commandsourcing.com.

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