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 Continue reading →