[Hospital pharmaceutical practice in prison]

Abstract

Since 1994, hospital pharmaceutical teams have been in charge of pharmaceutical tasks in "unités de consultation et de soins ambulatoires" (UCSA), which are hospital consulting care units in French prisons. In 2008, pharmaceutical team in Parisian prisons received 6500 prescriptions and prepared 85,000 nominative bags containing drugs. Prisoners were 1.3% to receive treatments against HIV, 8.2% cardiovascular drugs, 7.2% opioid substitution treatments, and 52.9% psychoactive drugs, including 39.3% hypnotics, 40.5% anxiolytics, 11.3% antidepressants and 12.2% neuroleptics. In prison, the dichotomy between somatic and mental care is marked, attitudes of prisoners about their medicines are complex (important claims, embezzlement, etc.) and it is difficult for law defendants to maintain treatment confidentiality and to prepare prison outing in terms of health. To attenuate the heterogeneity of drug distribution systems in French prisons, we propose pharmaceutical analysis of prescriptions and nominative dispensation, computerization in UCSA in coordination with hospitals, a better contribution of prison medical and pharmaceutical staff in hospital "drug committees" and the redaction of pharmaceutical guidelines. Acting in concert with multidisciplinary medical staff in UCSA, pharmaceutical teams have to develop epidemiological studies to improve knowledge in prisoner's health and also prevention and health care in prison.