Chaplains and access to medical records

This study was initiated by a Pastoral Care Department of a large academic medical center in order to establish hospital chaplaincy policies and procedures. Four basic questions were asked about professional hospital chaplains and record keeping. The results of the survey show that the standard of practice is that chaplains access the medical record, enter notes in the record, have access to the electronic medical record, and that no special credentialing beyond Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is required for chaplains to have this access.     

Bill would offer parole to inmates with AIDS

The Massachusetts House of Representatives will vote on a bill that would grant medical parole for prisoners with AIDS and other terminal illnesses. Currently, Massachusetts has no policy of early parole solely for medical reasons. The bill has already passed the State senate, and is seen as essential given the rise in incarceration of intravenous drug users, many of whom have HIV. In a related incident, a California judge granted compassionate early release to an inmate with AIDS. The prisoner, Regina Hope Edwards, is a repeat offender sentenced under the State's three-strikes law; she has advanced AIDS and was given three months to live. A California Superior Court judge set precedent by granting compassionate leave to a repeat offender sentenced under this law.