Carequality Network

Correctional healthcare doesn’t exist in isolation. Inmates often enter custody with incomplete or inaccessible health histories, sometimes moving between hospitals, clinics, and correctional facilities multiple times. Without access to outside medical data, clinicians must rely on self-reported information or partial records, increasing the risk of errors, redundant testing, and treatment delays.

The Carequality Network bridges that gap. It enables correctional facilities to securely exchange medical information with external healthcare organizations nationwide, giving providers immediate access to verified health records from community clinics, hospitals, and other systems. For correctional healthcare teams, this connectivity means faster decision-making, safer care, and more efficient coordination when inmates are admitted, transferred, or released.

What Is the Carequality Network?

The Carequality Network is a national interoperability framework that connects different health information networks, EHR systems, and providers under a shared set of standards. Developed by The Sequoia Project, Carequality enables seamless, secure data exchange among otherwise independent systems.

In simple terms, it acts as a “universal connector” for healthcare data. A facility connected to the Carequality Network can query and retrieve patient information from thousands of participating hospitals, clinics, laboratories, and agencies without requiring separate integrations or data-sharing agreements.

Carequality supports:

• Nationwide Record Sharing: Access to medical, behavioral, and laboratory data from participating organizations.
• Standardized Exchange Policies: A shared framework that ensures all participants meet the same security, privacy, and compliance expectations.
• Cross-System Communication: Interoperability across EHR vendors, allowing data exchange between correctional and community healthcare systems.

How the Carequality Network Supports Correctional Facilities

For correctional healthcare providers, joining the Carequality Network transforms access to patient information from a challenge into an advantage. Most inmates have received prior medical care outside the facility, often through hospitals, community clinics, or behavioral health programs. With Carequality integration, clinicians can retrieve this external data within seconds.

Key benefits include:

• Complete Patient Histories: Clinicians gain visibility into chronic conditions, allergies, prior medications, and hospital visits.
• Improved Continuity of Care: When inmates are admitted or released, information flows seamlessly between correctional and community providers.
• Better Decision-Making: Access to verified external data reduces guesswork and improves treatment accuracy.
• Reduced Administrative Burden: Staff spend less time chasing paperwork or waiting for faxed records.
• Enhanced Compliance: Meeting ACA, NCCHC, and HIPAA expectations for data completeness and security.

For example, suppose an inmate with diabetes enters custody. In that case, a connected EHR can immediately retrieve its latest lab results and medication list from a community clinic, ensuring safe, uninterrupted care from day one.

What Happens When Correctional Systems Aren’t Connected to Carequality

Facilities that operate without participation in the Carequality Network face several limitations:

• Incomplete Health Records: Providers may lack access to prior diagnoses, test results, or treatment histories.
• Delayed Care Coordination: Manual requests for external records can take days or weeks.
• Increased Costs: Duplicate testing and unnecessary procedures drive up operational expenses.
• Higher Clinical Risk: Missing data can lead to medication errors or to treatments that are contraindicated.
• Fragmented Discharge Planning: Reentry and post-release care coordination become less reliable.

Without interoperability, correctional healthcare teams work in silos, often providing care with an incomplete picture of the patient’s history.

How Carequality Integration Improves Efficiency and Compliance

By connecting through the Carequality Network, correctional facilities can securely exchange health information in real time, streamlining both clinical and administrative workflows.

Participating in the network enables facilities to:

• Retrieve and Share Data Instantly: Access outside records during intake, chronic care visits, or emergencies.
• Ensure Data Consistency: Synchronize records across multiple facilities and care settings.
• Reduce Duplication and Risk: Avoid unnecessary testing or conflicting treatments.
• Enhance Audit Readiness: Maintain complete, verifiable documentation for accreditation reviews.
• Support Reentry Continuity: Facilitate care coordination with community providers during transition or parole.

Interoperability through Carequality not only saves time but also strengthens compliance, accountability, and the quality of care across the entire correctional healthcare continuum.

The Broader Impact on Patient Care and Public Health

When correctional facilities participate in national data exchange networks like Carequality, the benefits extend beyond the facility itself. Seamless information sharing ensures that inmates, who are often among the most medically underserved populations, receive continuous, coordinated care from intake through reentry.

This approach improves outcomes, reduces recidivism related to untreated health conditions, and contributes to broader public health goals. By closing the information gap between correctional and community care, the Carequality Network helps create a more equitable and efficient healthcare ecosystem for all.

At CorrecTek, we believe that interoperability is key to adequate correctional healthcare. Our correctional EHR seamlessly connects to the Carequality Network, enabling facilities to exchange health information securely and efficiently with community providers.

With CorrecTek, staff can access complete patient records, improve care coordination, and maintain compliance with ACA, NCCHC, and HIPAA standards, without the complexity of managing multiple data systems.

Connect with us to learn how CorrecTek can help your facility enhance care continuity and interoperability through the Carequality Network.