Corrections_Today_Winter_2025-2026_Vol.87_No.4

OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL HEALTH

Three solutions, one platform

Safer, better, more compliant One aspect that impressed me the most was the attention to safety and compliance. The system is built with correctional realities in mind: – Security: The platform is designed to function within the strict boundaries of correction al IT systems, including NIST and FedRAMP – Compliance: All clinical data is handled with HIPAA-grade security protocols. – Continuity of Care: Records are easily integrated into exist ing electronic medical records, ensuring that eye care becomes From an administrative perspec tive, this reduces liability while increasing the quality of care. From a clinical perspective, it ensures patients are treated with the dignity and thoroughness they deserve. A paradigm shift in care delivery Walking away from the DO booth, I realized what made the ex perience so powerful: it wasn’t just about eye care. It was about reimag ining how specialty healthcare can be delivered in correctional facilities. For decades, we’ve struggled with the false choice between quality and practicality. Either we deliver gold-standard care at great expense and risk through off-site referrals, or we compromise with limited on-site services. DigitalOptometrics has shown us a third path: quality care part of a larger, holistic ap proach to inmate health.

additional construction or perma nent infrastructure. The flexibility here is critical. No two correctional facilities are alike, and having modular solu tions ensures adoption can be seamless. Technology that changes the workflow As I approached the booth, I saw Terri Catlett, Director, Office of Correctional Health, undergoing a live exam. I had been skeptical, but after speaking with her, we compared notes. In correctional health, we’ve been promised “dis ruptive” technology before, only to discover that it either fails to integrate into our workflows or lacks the necessary compliance and security features required in our environment. But what I saw from DigitalOp tometrics surprised me. The system was intuitive, designed for use by facility staff with minimal train ing. The exam process was efficient, guided by automation yet always connected to a licensed optometrist or ophthalmologist. The result was not a compromise in quality; it was an enhancement. The automation ensures consis tent, reproducible results. Doctors are free to focus on diagnosis and patient care. Administrators like myself gain a clear, secure data trail that aligns squarely with HIPAA and ACA standards. For years, we’ve asked: Can technology actually improve cor rectional healthcare, not just make it cheaper? With DO, the answer appears to be yes.

At the booth, I saw firsthand how DigitalOptometrics has engineered not just one, but three distinct solutions tailored for correctional environments: Onsite telehealth-enabled digital health platform This system allows comprehen sive eye exams to be conducted inside the facility. With advanced refraction tools and remote connec tion to licensed doctors, the process eliminates the need for inmate trans port while delivering hospital-grade accuracy. “Administrators like myself gain a clear, secure data trail that aligns squarely with HIPAA and ACA standards.”

Movable exam units

For facilities that cannot dedi cate permanent space or don’t have enough inmate population for a dedicated exam lane, the DO ToGo compact movable solution allows your exam lane to move between

rooms or facilities. Mobile exam units

These are fully contained and equipped units that can be posi tioned at one or multiple facilities on a rotating schedule, bringing the same level of care without requiring

Winter 2025-2026 | Corrections Today

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