Is deliberate indifference to medical needs an Eighth Amendment violation?

Society does not expect that prisoners have "unqualified access to healthcare" and consequently deliberate indifference to medical needs is an Eighth Amendment violation only if those needs are serious. Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1, 9 (1992). A "serious" medical need exists if the failure to treat a prisoner's condition could result in further significant injury or the "unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain." McGuckin, 974 F.2d at 1059. "The existence of an injury that a reasonable doctor or patient would find important and worthy of comment or treatment, the presence of a medical condition that significantly affects an individual's daily activities, or the existence of chronic and substantial pain are examples of indications that a prisoner has a 'serious' need for medical treatment." See id. at 1060-61 (citations omitted).