CHEYENNE (AP) - An independent audit of health services provided to Wyoming prison inmates reported improvement in the system since the last quarterly audit in October.

The latest audit found that in December, only 5.8 percent of incoming inmates were not being given health screenings within 24 hours of arrival and only 1.6 percent of new arrivals were not screened within a week, according to the Department of Corrections.

That was down from 36.2 percent and 27.3 percent, respectively, in October.

The recent audit also reported that 88 percent of inmate requests for care were responded to on the date scheduled, and that those dates were usually within a day or two of the request.

"We will continue to require timely, appropriate, medically necessary and cost-effective accredited care to our inmate population," Corrections Director Bob Lampert said in a release.

The department has a contract with Prison Health Services, Inc., of Brentwood, Tenn., to provide health care to Wyoming inmates housed in the state.

Prison Health Services took over medical and mental health services for the Wyoming Department of Corrections in July. The company won the contract with a low bid of $10.5 million, beating out another company that had handled the work for the previous six years.

A previous audit said that poor record-keeping, due in part to the changing contractors, made it impossible to determine how long inmates had to wait for health care.