Use of medical services during a 2-month period in the Seattle-King County (Washington) jail.

Total health care utilization in the Seattle-King County jail over a 2-month period in spring 1979 was studied. The annualized visit rate for men was 48 per prisoner per year, 2.6 times the rate for men studied in a long-term prison and almost 20 times the rate for men studied in the general population. The annualized rate for female prisoners was three times that of male prisoners. For all prisoners, the most common problems seen were skin conditions (9.7 percent), musculoskeletal (8.3 percent), and psychiatric (8.2 percent). An examination of practitioners' patterns in providing care demonstrated the primary role of registered nurses, who saw 70 percent of the patients. During the study period, 125 transfers were made to a hospital; 48.8 percent were for medical problems, 41.6 percent for trauma, and 9.6 percent for psychosocial problems.