Health Services FAQs (North Carolina Department of Adult Correction)

The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Health Services FAQ is an unusually detailed, practical guide to getting care in a North Carolina prison. It explains that patients request care by submitting a Sick Call Request Form available in each housing unit, that nursing staff review requests daily and schedule by medical priority, and that someone with emergent symptoms should declare an emergency to custody or medical staff, triggering immediate evaluation on site or by after-hours video nursing triage. It states that medical care is never denied based on ability to pay, that patient-initiated health care carries a $5.00 copayment and patient-initiated emergency visits outside normal sick call can carry a $7.00 copayment, and that someone who declares an emergency and is found to have a true emergency accrues no copay. Exempt encounters include mandated screenings, TB testing, immunizations, care after use of force or job-related injuries, and emergency care. The page also covers specialty referrals through Utilization Management, Keep on Person medication and refills, the Medication for Opioid Use Disorder program, release of information using Form DC-436, who to contact for urgent concerns, and Early Medical Release criteria under N.C.G.S. 15A-1369.