Objectives: This panel member will focus on the trends, barriers and opportunities for social work managers in healthcare. Strategies to increase social work presence and influence in healthcare will be identified.
Methods: The panel member will describe current trends including de-professionalization of social work positions, including the substitution of other types of healthcare workers for social workers. Cost saving measures that have lead to these phenomena will be explored. Means for social workers to preserve their traditional roles in a cost-effective manner will be examined. New roles for social workers will also be discussed.
Results: Attendees will be informed of current threats to social work positions due to deskilling and deprofessionalization due to cost-efficiency criteria demanded by managed care and similar cost containment strategies. They will also be informed about cost-effective means by which professional social work can continue to be provided, e.g., care-coordination models. They will also be informed concerning new roles social workers are assuming in community-based primary health settings, managed Medicare programs, managed care, and community health centers.
Conclusions: This presentation will provide social workers an opportunity to focus on specific management strategies to increase the presence of social work in healthcare.
Learning Objectives: 1. Attendees will understand the forces affecting changes in roles for social workers. 2. Attendees will identify barriers to optimal employment of social workers in health services 3. Attendees will identify ways through which to preserve social work roles 4. Attendees will identify ways to develop new roles for social workers in healthcare.
Keywords: Sustainability, Service Delivery
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.