Dr. M Blatstein's Blog

PRESENTENCE INTERVIEW PREPARATION, ⚖️TREATMENTS THAT ARE ‘ALLOWED’ IN FEDERAL PRISON – BUT NO🤞 GUARANTEES…

PRESENTENCE INTERVIEW PREPARATION, ⚖️TREATMENTS THAT ARE ‘ALLOWED’ IN FEDERAL PRISON – BUT NO🤞 GUARANTEES…

👉The DOJ encourages corporations and individuals to adopt strong ethical guidelines, internal controls, and compliance programs to prevent and detect any malfeasance – until they don’t.

This short YouTube includes my commentary on an article I co-published in The Federal Lawyer 1/2021, regarding The Critical Role of The Presentence Report.

👉SCOPE OF MEDICAL SERVICES – CATEGORIES OF CARE (Program Statement 6031.01, Patient Care, Pages 5-7)

Note: Ordinarily, pretrial or non-sentenced inmates, and inmates with less than 12 months to serve, are ineligible for health services in subsections III., IV., and V. Subsections IV and V are also usually not provided.

All of this emphasizes the reasons for the preparation of a Complete, Accurate, and overly Comprehensive,👉 Presentence Report.

  • If you are being sentenced, have a medical condition that requires surgery (for example, orthopedic, that adversely affects your Activity of Daily Living, or have a failing Kidney that needs to be removed), but you’re unable to get the procedure before you surrender; this is when your Presentence Report is critical.
  • When accurate, it will include, 1) detailed medical records that explain your diagnosis and treatment plan, 2) what would happen if this treatment is not provided, and 3) a placement request to the appropriate BOP Federal Medical Center (FMC).
  • Your medication that is not on the BOP Formulary, or a generic drug that is either Non-Formulary or Not Available is something that you do not want to learn after your inside. Being overly Comprehensive for your Presentence Interview is a must – and a unique topic all by itself.

Why? Should you need a second opinion, or consult with a specialist, you may have to wait up to 18 months just to learn if this is even allowed. If granted, it could take another 18 months just to get your appointment. After you have had your appointment, and the Clinical Director at your facility is in receipt of the specialist’s recommendations – they (The BOP) are under No Obligation to follow those recommendations, rather, they are just placed in your file. Further, courts cannot order specific treatment or medication to be used (#9), after you have been incarcerated. Therefore, a great starting point is being prepared for the Presentence Interview, where the Probation Officer will, in turn, draft the official Presentence Report.

The BOP’s five categories upon which all medical care is provided.

I. Life-Threatening,  Medically Necessary – Acute or Emergent

■ Myocardial infarction. ■ Severe trauma such as head injuries. ■ Hemorrhage. ■ Stroke. ■ Status asthmaticus. ■ Precipitous labor or complications associated with pregnancy. ■ Detached retina, sudden loss of vision.

Treatment is essential to sustain life or function and warrants immediate attention.

II. Medically Necessary but Not Urgent,

■ Serious deterioration leading to premature death. ■ Significant reduction in the possibility of repair later without present treatment. ■ Significant pain or discomfort which impairs the inmate’s participation in activities of daily living.

While not immediately life-threatening, without treatment, the person’s overall health and, or ADL may not be maintained.

III. Medically Appropriate but Not Necessary; to improve the person’s quality of life

■ Joint replacement. ■ Reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee. ■ Treatment of non-cancerous skin conditions (e.g. skin tags, lipomas)

These always require review by the Institution Utilization Review regarding,

■ The risks and benefits of the treatment. ■ Available resources. ■ Natural history of the condition. ■ The effect of the intervention on inmate functioning in his/her activities of daily living.

These are considered elective procedures, to improve the inmate’s quality of life, and may or may not be allowed.

IV. Limited Medical Value.

■ Minor conditions that are self-limiting. ■ Cosmetic procedures (e.g. blepharoplasty). ■ Removal of non-cancerous skin lesions (if you have a history of skin cancer, two issues are present, (1) hope that the prison healthcare provider has this type of training to recognize Cancer, and (2) that your Presentence Report has your history reported in detail).

V. Extraordinary.

■ Organ transplant or Donor, or ■ Those Considered Investigational

👉The PRESENTENCE REPORT (PSR), IS YOUR “REFERRAL” THAT CONTROLS ALL ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE, AND IMMEDIATE FUTURE – REDOS ARE VERY FEW, EXPENSIVE, AND A HEAVY LIFT. THEREFORE ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.

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Marc, Dr. Blatstein

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