A 1978 General Accounting Office report indicates that, to varying degrees, Federal and State prisons and local jails do not meet minimum standards for providing adequate health care. As has been the case with many other correctional facilities, a class action suit was brought against the State of Utah in 1976 charging that medical care at the Utah State Prison was inadequate. The State responded to the suit quickly and systematically by appointing new correctional administrators to determine the medical and dental needs of inmates and the proper mix of resources to meet those needs. The strategy chosen to improve the health care delivery at the Utah State Prison included (1) an evaluation of the current medical staff and future personnel needs; (2) the development of a formalized relationship with the University Medical Center in Salt Lake City; (3) a more concrete relationship with the community correctional centers relative to the delivery of care for individuals in satellite facilities; (4) an analysis of the internal operations of the medical unit at the prison relative to manpower, facilities, and the delivery of care; and (5) an analysis of the use of health care at the Utah State Prison for proper assessment, accreditation, and budgetary purposes. A summary of study findings and 15 recommendations are presented. Tabular data show the number and reasons for physician visits, and 13 footnotes are listed.