Caring for the incarcerated: an orthopedic perspective.

According to the 1976 Supreme Court case of Estelle v Gamble, the government is required to provide prisoners access to the necessary care for known, serious medical needs. Failure to do so violates the Eighth Amendment prohibiting the imposition of "cruel and unusual punishment." Currently, more than 2.5 million Americans are imprisoned, the highest per capita rate in the world. In the current fiscal climate and with burgeoning health care costs for society as a whole, providing care for prisoners poses both moral and logistical challenges. From an orthopedic standpoint, caring for the incarcerated raises uniquely challenging issues due to the nature of this patient population and their types of musculoskeletal conditions.