Medical data were collected on a sample of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmates who were scheduled for release between October 23 and November 3, 1989. Intake and release physicals and interim diagnoses were reviewed by a medical consultant who coded whether the inmate's health status stayed the same, improved, worsened, or was indeterminate. Board-certified physicians rendered a judgment of the appropriateness of care given to the inmate during his or her stay. Most inmates (94.5 percent) received appropriate care, and regression analysis showed no significant relationship between appropriateness of care and demographic or offense-related variables. Most inmates' health status remained the same during their stay (89.3 percent). A small percentage of inmates were deemed to have worsened (6.6 percent), while 4.1 percent were deemed to have improved. A regression analysis indicated that older, Hispanic, and higher-security-level inmates were more likely to have worsened in health during incarceration. 5 tables and 26 references