New Digital Healthcare Portal Rolls Out Across Massachusetts Prisons

Massachusetts inmates now have access to a new digital patient healthcare portal program. The Department of Corrections said the program runs across its facilities to "provide access to health records via an incarcerated person's department-issued educational tablet."

How the Tablet Health Portal Works

"Individuals within each facility can use the portal to submit digital service requests and access important health educational resources in multiple languages on relevant topics, and make informed decisions about their health care," the DOC said.

"The program is the first patient portal of its kind developed by DOC's health care partner, VitalCore Health Care Strategies," according to a statement on the department's website.

Massachusetts Inmates Now Have Access To Digital Health Care Portals

Streamlining Care for Clinicians and Inmates

DOC Commissioner Shawn Jenkins said, "Through creative thinking and determination, the DOC and its partners continue to create new and innovative programs and applications that better serve individuals under our care."

"We know this patient portal will help our housed population become even more engaged in their own physical and mental health while streamlining the process for our clinicians to provide care," Jenkins said.

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With the portal program, inmates will be able to submit requests for medical assistance and "access health and wellness resources, including guided meditations." They will also be able to request copies of their medical records and receive appointment reminders, among other things.

The patient portals are accessible through tablets provided by the DOC since 2024, which inmates use for educational, vocational, and reentry programming.

Expanding Healthcare Reform in Mass. Prisons

As part of DOC's five-year strategic plan, the department has also implemented changes to its health and well-being services following six inmate suicides in 2025.

The department said the portal program "builds on DOC's ongoing work to strengthen healthcare and mental health services across its facilities."