Hey Jeff, like you I am an ER doc and am the Medical Director of a 550 bed jail. I would like you thoughts on body cavity searches. We had a case last week where an inmate was seen putting a baggy in his rectum. A search warrant was issued and the inmate was sent to the ER for a body cavity search. The inmate refused to let the ER personal touch him. He told the ER doc that it was a baggy of tobacco. The ER observed him for several hours and sent him back to the jail. No cavity search was done. The ER doc felt she would have to sedate the inmate to do the search and felt uncomfortable doing this against his will. The NCCHC frowns on the jail medical providers doing evidence related procedures or searches. My policy is to do the searches if the inmate will sign an informed consent and allow it to be done. If the inmate were to have a complication of sedation or the removal procedure that was done against his will, I would think a malpractice claim could be supported. How do you handle these types of situations in your jail? Thanks, BJF
Well, let me first say that if you are an ER doc you are clearly a fine fellow and also good looking! Also, as I have, you probably have some great ER stories of strange rectal foreign bodies. ER rectal foreign body cases usually devolve like this: the patient inserts some foreign body into the rectum (don’t ask why) and then cannot get it back out. After hours of trying, in desperation, they come to the ER. The removal of the foreign body in the ER is never easy–if it had been easy, the patient would have done it themselves–and so most patients require some sort of sedation. Many even have to go to the operating theater for formal anesthesia. However, such cases are much different from the case of jail inmates with contraband secreted either in their rectum or vagina.
First of all, inmates generally do this for one of two reasons: First, to smuggle contraband into the facility. Inmates know that in the US, body cavity searches are illegal without probable cause, so this tactic is very often successful (which is why these orifices are sometimes (rudely) called “the pink purse” and “the brown purse,” as in “How did cigarettes get into dorm 4?” “Pink purse, most likely”). The second reason to secrete contraband in a body orifice is to hide evidence of a crime, as was done in your case. This guy wants to prevent discovery of evidence that could incriminate him.
Either way, inmates who have secreted contraband in body orifices are different from ER patients because they usually can easily remove the foreign body themselves if they want and because they have not requested medical intervention. They also are not sick because of the contraband. Those three facts make all the difference. They mean that your case of rectal contraband is not a medical problem; instead, it is a legal matter. It does not become a medical issue until the patient cannot remove the foreign object themself and requests your help or until the foreign object makes them physically ill.
As an example, I had a patient in one of my jails who successfully smuggled a gold chain into the jail by using a body orifice. Unfortunately, the orifice she chose was her urethra so that the chain ended up in her bladder. Of course she could not remove it but still did not tell anyone what she had done until several days later, when she developed a nasty UTI. Then the story came out, an x-ray confirmed the presence of a gold chain in her bladder and, with her consent, she was whisked off to surgery. (She did fine, by the way).
Gathering Forensic Evidence is a Conflict of Interest
In contrast, most rectal contraband cases are legal rather than medical cases. That presents a conundrum for medical providers. Let’s consider you, the jail doctor, first. If you were to do a body cavity search and remove contraband, even with patient consent, you would now be in the position of possibly having to testify against the patient in court. How can you be their impartial doctor when you are assisting the prosecution? It is a conflict of interest and generally should not be done.
That is why NCCHC (as you mentioned) condemns the practice of jail medical providers gathering any kind of forensic evidence. Besides rectal contraband, this also includes the gathering of evidence in a sexual assault case. To avoid the prosecutor/provider conflict-of-interest, somebody else, who will not be providing medical care to the person in question, should gather forensic evidence. In this case, if the patient were to decide that he cannot remove the contraband and consented for you to help him, then this has turned into a medical case. However, since it involves smuggling contraband and/or hiding evidence, it still has legal implications that you should be wary of. Even if you do a manual extraction with the patient’s consent, you could still be subpoenaed to testify in court against the patient. A more subtle way to facilitate removal of a baggie that does not carry the legal implications of a manual extraction would be to give this patient a strong stimulant laxative and let nature take its course. You won’t be there when the baggie re-emerges.
I also understand why the ER doctor refused to remove the contraband in the ER. Again, this was not a medical case. The patient probably could remove the baggie himself if he wanted. It was not making him sick. There was no urgent need for removal. And, on top of that, the ER doc did not have the patient’s consent–and for a medical procedure that he did not need!
The Issue Of Consent
The consent issue is key for the ER doc. Patients have the right to refuse proffered medical services. There are three ways in which a patient may lose this right to refuse medical care:
- The patient is not competent. This might be because he is drunk or demented or underage, for example. However, this patient clearly is competent. He even has a pretty understandable reason to refuse the body cavity search–he doesn’t want anyone to find evidence that could send him to prison!
- The refusal represents a clear and present danger to the patient’s immediate health. An example would be the inmate who is pounding his head against a wall or otherwise trying to harm himself. (I have written extensively about this situation here). However, the baggie up this patient’s rectum is not a clear and present danger to his health. It cannot remain there forever, but as of right now, it is not a medical issue. Plus, he can take it out himself when he is ready. Or it will pass, naturally.
- A court of law takes away the right of consent. Courts do this most often for psychiatric patients, but a judge could conceivably issue a court order to remove this rectal foreign body. However, such a court order is not the same thing as a search warrant. The search warrant in this case was issued to law enforcement personnel, not the ER doctor. I’m not sure what protection it would provide to an ER doctor against, say, a malpractice claim, were she to forcibly sedate or restrain this patient against his will to extract this baggie. (Attorneys! Please weigh in!) I also would not have done it. But I also probably would not do it even with a formal court order (and, by the way, I have never seen such an order issued) because this is not a medical procedure!
Meanwhile, Back At the Ranch . . .
The problem, after all of this spirited discussion, is that we still have our inmate to deal with. The baggie still remains. Up there. No one will remove it, not the patient, not the jail doctor and not the ER doctor. What to do?
The jail, of course, cannot allow this inmate with rectal contraband into the jail population. Jail authorities have a clear mandate to protect the safety and security of the institution. In fact, almost always, the safety and security of the institution outweighs the medical needs of any one inmate if they ever come into conflict.
The key in this particular case is that the inmate can remove the baggie himself whenever he wants to. But even if he can no longer reach the baggie, it will experience “movement” at some point in the future. And there is no medical urgency for this removal/evacuation to occur. So in most of my jails, this inmate would be placed in a dry cell (no toilet) until the removal/evacuation occurred. Most of the time, after a period of waiting, the inmate will give the baggie up. Of course, this is not in my purview as the jail physician because this is not a medical issue. It is a legal issue and a problem of the jail’s security staff.
It will become my problem if and when it becomes a medical issue, for example, if the patient were to become ill from a retained foreign body. If the patient is not yet ill but decides he cannot himself remove the object and asks for my help, I may give him a laxative and step away. If he needs and consents to a manual extraction, an impartial ER doc or friendly gastroenterologist would be happy to help.
A bottle of mag citrate and increased po fluids should do the trick for rectal contraband.
My thought exactly, Brenda! As long as the patient drinks the Mag citrate . . .
The problem with this is…..why are you giving mag citrate? From a medical stand-point there is no constipation or indication for the med and you are using the mag citrate for an off label use. Say there is a bad outcome such as severe dehydration that leads to hospitalization or an allergic reaction to the mag citrate you are now liable. Are you going to be able to explain to the court why you provided a medicine for non medical purposes? The lawyers are going to chew you up and down and you are putting your license on the line. In general Id just say “No, I’m not managing this situation until the patient requests it through medical and it becomes a non punitive visit.”
First, what a great / comprehensive answer!
As you say the issue is really a ‘corrections’ problem – not medical (for all the reasons you list). The thought that comes to mind is ‘dry cell’. Often, based upon ‘intelligence’ or other information / suspicion, the facility will place an individual under observation in a ‘dry cell’ (flush toilet controlled by corrections) so that any items that are ‘passed’ can be seen.
Generally, ‘medical’ is not involved in any way – occasionally as assessment to determine that there is no medical risk.
As for the court order, we’ve had some ‘activist’ judges who produced interesting orders. There is an instance that sparked the office of the Attorney General to appeal. In our state, a judge can ‘order’ an individual to comply with treatment plans (usually mental health) in accord with the providers directions – but cannot ‘order’ what that treatment will be.
Thanks for the comment, Al! Activist judges do produce some interesting orders.
i just ran into this situation today with a female inmate. Last night , she was observed receiving contraband and placing it in her pants (most likely her vagina since she has done this before) durring a visit. When confronted she denied this, as did her visitor. Her dorm area was searched and pills where found in two areas. This morning I was told of this and it was again brought up of the possibility of me getting hidden contraband out of her vagina. Let me also stress that I am the facility RN. I expressed, #1 this is well out of my scope of practice, #2 I felt it is was a total conflict of interest. Any body cavity searches needed to be performed elsewhere by someone else. I was told by the LT that he believes if I do a visual exam and see something “sticking out” , I can remove it. Needless to say I did not do a vaginal exam on the inmate. I did check her vitals, discuss the possible physical consequences of med/drugs in the vagina (she denied this), and placed her on active medical watch. This is a very frustrating topic between myself and the Correctional side of the house.
Thank you very much for this article. I have question for you. Working in the Er we have a lot of Psy pt. each pt is to be “searched” removal personal clothing and put in a hospital gown. Safe room only a mat on the floor. Had a female that had been in Safe room “long time” pt calm and moved to standard ER pt room. Upon pt trying to get a urine sample ” tampon came out” then ” 2 black bags” with contents of street drugs. This pt has a CON, no etoh. Prior to Er pt found on street with knife “trying to harm” bystanders. Pt very hostile and paranoid. When the contraband was found I was told not to chart anything about “contents” and the security would dispose of “content” Hush Hush. The doctor later order a pelvic x-ray to make sure no other” contraband “. I was told no x-ray could be order on this pt. . This pt was a harm to her self and other staff member. What about staff and other pt safety? This response from the higher up’s really bother me. Pt had pos. USD. We had 3 male security officers and 2 nurses to assist with her care. Any insight for this issue would help .
Thank You
I am really shocked at the reluctance of my colleagues here to get involved in these matters since as far as I’m concerned this is a huge medical issue. I’m also shocked that the subject of what ever is in there rupturing was not brought up. Obviously, all of you are well aware of the absorption capabilities of the rectum into the blood stream as this is even a popular mode of administration among drug addicts. On the street. Let’s take heroin for example. If an inmate has a couple of balloons the size of a dime in his\hers rectum and one of those bags ruptures that person could possibly be dead in minutes. I am really disappointed in that it seems as though all of you are putting the correctional facility above the value of a human life.
Well, Greg, the main issue here is one of consent. The problem comes with doing invasive exams/extractions against the patient’s will. If the patient is willing, I am more than happy to send them to my local ER to get their dangerous contraband removed.
You have covered this topic well.
As an ED physician, I am less than 2 years into my current career as medical director for a large correctional center (2200 inmates).
2 months ago, a CO brought 3 inmates into our dispensary and demanded we search them for suspected drug smuggling. I did initiate the conversation by reminding the CO that he will never come into my “house” again and tell me what to do.
That having been said, here is what happened.
My NP ordered abd and pelvis films of all 3 and big surprise- no findings suggestive of FB.
Inmate A: initially denied the accusation, but eventually admitted he had a baggie in the “brown purse”, which he removed himself.
Inmate B also denied any wrong doing, so he accepted my mag citrate beverage and low and behold, out came a baggie.
Inmate C- you guessed, swore up and down that he was innocent and did not do drugs. Hedrang the mag citrate and additional fluids,had a large BM- mothing.
Now hours later, he was released to his cell. Less than 12 hours later, he was found dead in his bed.
The autopsy supported my suspicion- he swallow a baggie full of heroin, benzo’s, and benadryl.
His final decision in life was a bad one.