A Comparison of Acuity and Treatment Measures of Inmate and Noninmate Hospital Patients With a Diagnosis of Either Heart Disease or Chest Pain

The provision of health care to prison inmates is required by law, paid for by taxpayers, and increasing as the inmate population increases. The findings that, on average, inmate patients with heart disease stay in the hospital longer and receive treatment sooner compared to noninmate patients do not indicate that inmates receive poorer quality of care compared to noninmates.