IT Cure Eight Years in the Making
California inmates sued over substandard medical care in 2001. Full deployment of critical systems begins this year.
CIO —
2001
California Department of Corrections healthcare budget: $724 million
Inmate count: 157,142
April: 10 inmates sue the state, accusing the prison system of violating the Eighth Amendment with medicine that amounts to cruel and unusual punishment
2002
Healthcare budget: $879 million
Inmate count: 159,695
June: U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson pronounces prison healthcare system unconstitutional. State agrees to fix the problems.
November: State senate advisory committee concludes that Department of Corrections technology is "antiquated"
2003
Healthcare budget: $935 million
Inmate count: 161,785
2004
Healthcare budget: $1 billion
Inmate count: 163,939
Medical review of 193 inmate deaths finds 34 to have been preventable or possibly preventable
July: An audit committee requested by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger calls for an overhaul of the prison healthcare system, asking the University of California hospital system to take over inmate health care. The university declines.
2005
Healthcare budget: $1. billion
Inmate count: 168,035
June: Henderson places prison healthcare system in receivership
2006
Healthcare budget: $1.2 billion
Inmate count: 172,528
Medical review of 426 inmate deaths finds 66 to have been preventable or possibly preventable.
April: Bob Sillen starts work as receiver. Calls conditions in San Quentin "appalling."
June: Federal review finds prison pharmacy costs are up 4 times higher per inmate than comparable prison systems.
October: California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declares a state of emergency in prisons. Among measures to relieve overcrowding, state may step up inmate transfers between prisons.
After paying $100 million in overdue vendor and medical bills, Sillen spends $5 million on a pilot of contract management software at four prisons
November: John Hummel is appointed CIO of the receivership
2007
Healthcare budget: $1.6 billion
Inmate count: 171,144April: All 33 state prisons receive new networking and telecommunications gear for telemedicine program so remote doctors can treat inmates.
May: Gov. Schwarzenegger approves a $7.7 billion prison expansion plan.
July: Judge Henderson says overcrowding must be addressed to fix medical care. Orders a three-judge panel to consider a prisoner release. The state appeals.
September: Maxor's GuardianRx pharmacy management application goes live at Mule Creek State Prison. Sillen issues a request-for-proposals for a "clinical data repository," database to track inmate medical records.
November : Sillen files a three-year plan that includes IT infrastructure. Says total overhaul could take at least 10 years
2008
Healthcare budget: $2 billion
Inmate count: 170,455
January: Sillen is fired, replaced by Clark Kelso, former CIO for the state.
February: Hummel resigns
March: Kelso proposes new three-year plan to improve business processes and technology, including completion of the Maxor rollout and the clinical data repository by mid-2009.
