Practical guide
Published August 16, 2026
Medical care in a California prison starts with a CDCR Form 7362, Health Care Services Request. The incarcerated person has to submit it themselves — a family member cannot file one for them. What you can do from the outside is call that prison's Patient Health Care Inquiry line, which California Correctional Health Care Services keeps for urgent changes in a patient's condition.
How your family member asks for care
Urgent or emergency: tell any staff member, any time
No form is required. Under CDCR health care policy, they tell any staff member — an officer, a counselor, anyone — describe the problem, and ask that health care staff be contacted. That staff member is supposed to contact health care immediately, and a registered nurse or primary care provider then evaluates them in person or by phone. Every staff member also has authority to call 9-1-1.
Everything else: the 7362 sick call slip
Routine medical, dental and mental health requests go on a CDCR Form 7362, into a designated drop box. If they can't fill it out themselves, health care staff are supposed to help. Under CCHCS policy, 7362s are collected daily and reviewed by a registered nurse the same day; urgent symptoms should be seen in person by an RN that day, non-urgent within one business day.
The 7362 matters for a second reason. A health care grievance can be rejected outright if the regular process was never tried first (15 CCR § 3999.226(a)(3)). The 7362 is the proof, so ask for the date it went in.
The timelines you can hold them to
- Intake and transfers. Screening within 24 hours of arrival, full physical by a doctor within seven calendar days (15 CCR § 3355). Prescriptions already in progress are not supposed to be interrupted.
- Specialty referrals. Outside specialists need utilization review — 21 calendar days at the prison committee, 60 at headquarters (15 CCR §§ 3352–3352.1).
- Dental exams. A dentist screening within 60 days of the reception center; then on request every two years until age 50, and yearly after 50 or with diabetes, HIV or a seizure disorder — scheduled within 90 days, no co-pay (15 CCR § 3355.1).
- Dental treatment. Immediately for emergencies, one to 60 days for urgent conditions, 120 days or one year for the rest (15 CCR § 3354(f)).
Medications
CCHCS policy sets three rules worth knowing by heart. A new non-urgent prescription should arrive within three business days after the pharmacy receives the order. A renewal should be in hand at least one business day before the old supply runs out — the gap is not supposed to happen. Urgent orders and renewals are filled as soon as possible, including outside business hours.
Most prescriptions are Keep-on-Person unless staff decide they can't be taken safely; psychiatric medications generally are not, apart from some SSRIs. Approved over-the-counter items should be free through the canteen. Anyone released while on psychiatric medication should get a 30-day supply (15 CCR § 3355(d)).
Mental health care
Routine mental health requests also go on a 7362, and CDCR's Mental Health Services Delivery System Program Guide sets response times of five business days for routine requests, 24 hours for urgent, and immediately for emergencies. Any staff member may refer someone showing symptoms. If staff believe a person is a suicide risk, they must notify mental health staff immediately and keep the person under direct observation until a trained clinician does a face-to-face evaluation (15 CCR § 3365).
Co-pays
California prisons do not charge a co-pay for medical or dental visits a person requests. CDCR ended the former $5 co-pay on March 1, 2019, and state law has barred the fee since January 1, 2020 (Penal Code § 5007.5). Mental health care was already free.
What you can do from the outside
1. Ask them to sign a CDCR 7385
Nothing else here works without it. CDCR Form 7385, Authorization for Release of Information, is what lets health care staff discuss the condition with you and lets you receive records. They sign it; the form is available at any health care clinic.
2. Call the Patient Health Care Inquiry line
CCHCS publishes a separate number for every institution at cchcs.ca.gov/phi-phone-numbers. Use it for an urgent change in health status; CCHCS states that calls unrelated to an urgent change will not be returned. For an imminent safety concern, call the prison's main line and leave a message for the Watch Office.
3. Write, for anything not urgent
Non-urgent, patient-specific concerns go in writing to the Health Care Correspondence and Appeals Branch, CCHCS, P.O. Box 588500, Elk Grove, CA 95758, or by email to m_CCHCSPHCI@cdcr.ca.gov.
4. Call the CDCR Ombudsman
The Office of the Ombudsman takes calls from relatives and refers health care concerns to staff at the institution: (916) 445-1773, or P.O. Box 942883, Sacramento, CA 94283-0001. See cdcr.ca.gov/ombuds.
5. Ask the warden for an outside doctor
This one is written for you specifically. Under 15 CCR § 3354(c), a person in prison or that person's guardian, relative, attorney or advocate may send the warden a written request for an examination by an outside doctor. The warden consults the Chief Medical Executive and should grant it unless specific factors justify denial; a denial must be explained in writing. You pay the cost, and the outside doctor can recommend but cannot order treatment.
One law worth naming in a letter
Penal Code § 2653: once a CDCR doctor states in writing that a treatment is needed to prevent serious and imminent harm, it cannot be cancelled or modified without approval from the Chief Medical Executive or the treating doctor. Security needs can delay it, but the treatment must follow as soon as possible.
If the care still doesn't happen
The next step is a CDCR Form 602 HC Health Care Grievance, and the deadline is short — 30 calendar days. See our guide to filing a CDCR grievance. For anything specific to an individual case, the Prison Law Office is a non-profit serving exactly this situation: General Delivery, San Quentin, CA 94964, (510) 280-2621, prisonlaw.com. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Common questions
Can I call the prison and ask about my son's medical condition?
Only if he has signed a CDCR Form 7385, Authorization for Release of Information, naming you. Without it, health care staff cannot legally discuss his condition with you. Once it is on file, use the Patient Health Care Inquiry line for that institution for urgent changes, or write to the Health Care Correspondence and Appeals Branch in Elk Grove for anything else.
Can I file a health care grievance for my family member?
No. California regulations bar anyone from submitting a 602 HC on another person's behalf (15 CCR § 3999.227(d)). They have to sign and submit it themselves. You can help fill it out, gather medical records and other supporting documents, make copies, and mail things to the grievance office. Another incarcerated person may also help, as long as they are not paid.
They have been asking for blood pressure medication for weeks. What do I do first?
Ask whether a CDCR Form 7362 was submitted and on what date, because that form is both the request and the proof they tried. Then call the institution's Patient Health Care Inquiry line, since an untreated chronic condition is a change in health status. Watch the 30-day clock for a 602 HC grievance, which runs from the denial or interruption.
How do I get copies of their medical records?
They fill out and sign a CDCR Form 7385, naming you and listing the records to be released, and send it to the prison health records office. Copies are due within 15 days. They are free if the entire file is requested or there is no money in the trust account; otherwise the charge is $0.10 per page.
What if they refuse to see the doctor?
A mentally competent person has the right to refuse treatment (15 CCR § 3351(e)) and cannot be taken to an appointment by force. Health care staff should come to the housing unit to discuss it, and any refusal is documented on a CDCR Form 7225. A rule violation can be charged for refusing, except for mental health appointments. A missed appointment, as opposed to a refusal, gets rescheduled.
Last updated: August 2026.