This practical guide provides the knowledge and skills social workers need when navigating the complex health care environment, while having to continuously adapt to change. Substantially revised and updated, the fourth edition delivers a wealth of new information reflecting the rapidly evolving health care landscape. Full of practice-oriented advice, it encompasses all aspects of professional health care social work in the U.S. health care system, across all key settings. Throughout the fourth edition there is a strong emphasis on the importance of developing best practices that are evidence-based, culturally-sensitive, supportive, and ethically accountable. The book is also a call to action for social workers, who must not only be therapeutically effective but also professionally competitive with other health care providers offering similar services. Each chapter contains professional profiles in diverse practice areas along with a glossary, reflective questions, and relevant websites. New to the Fourth Edition: Major updates on all recent changes in health care practice and the ACA and the role of the health care social worker, including an increased emphasis on the role of social justice Updated information related to the NASW Code of Ethics, including use of technology and evaluation Increased emphasis on Evidence-Based Practice throughout Updated with the different roles of social workers, including medical social work in the military, VA hospitals and clinics, and advocacy for those who are serving or have served New sections on behavioral health and integrative practice, telehealth, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), social work practice in emergency departments, and home health, intimate partner/domestic violence, mandated reporting, and duty to protect/duty to warn Major changes to health and mental health assessment, including updated DSM-5 and WHO assessments Examining ethical dilemmas, including vaccinations and new sections on pain and spirituality Completely rewritten content on prevention, health, and wellness coaching Key Features: Encompasses all aspects of professional health care social work in the U.S. health care system, across key settings and patient populations Highlights the need for more organizational and leadership knowledge Provides tools for adapting to all major changes in health care with updated roles and functions Includes a wealth of advice through professional profiles Supplementary material for instructors includes PowerPoints and an Instructor’s Manual with sample syllabus, course-related CSWE accreditation suggestions, classroom activities, and a test bank for each chapter

The number of women practicing medicine in the United States has grown steadily since the late 1960s, with women now roughly at parity with men among entering medical students. Why did so many women enter American medicine? How are women faring, professionally and personally, once they become physicians? Are women transforming the way medicine is practiced? To answer these questions, The Changing Face of Medicine draws on a wide array of sources, including interviews with women physicians and surveys of medical students and practitioners. The analysis is set in the twin contexts of a rapidly evolving medical system and profound shifts in gender roles in American society. Throughout the book, Ann K. Boulis and Jerry A. Jacobs critically examine common assumptions about women in medicine. For example, they find that women's entry into medicine has less to do with the decline in status of the profession and more to do with changes in women's roles in contemporary society. Women physicians' families are becoming more and more like those of other working women. Still, disparities in terms of specialty, practice ownership, academic rank, and leadership roles endure, and barriers to opportunity persist. Along the way, Boulis and Jacobs address a host of issues, among them dual-physician marriages, specialty choice, time spent with patients, altruism versus materialism, and how physicians combine work and family. Women's presence in American medicine will continue to grow beyond the 50 percent mark, but the authors question whether this change by itself will make American medicine more caring and more patient centered. The future direction of the profession will depend on whether women doctors will lead the effort to chart a new course for health care delivery in the United States.

This third edition of a best-selling social work text reflects the dramatic changes that have taken place in our health care environment since the second edition was published in 2004óand will likely continue to take place. It is a practical guide for social workers who must navigate our complex health care environment and accept new challenges while adapting to continual change. The book encompasses many facets of professional health care social work within the U.S. health care system, across key health care settings and with numerous different patient populations. The book is also a call to action for social workers, who today must not only be therapeutically effective but must be professionally competitive with other health care providers that claim similar treatment strategies and techniques. Permeating the third edition is a strong emphasis on the importance of developing best practices that are evidence-based, supportive, and ethically accountable while remaining time-limited and cost-effective. Each chapter contains a Glossary, Questions for Further Study, and a list of relevant websites. At the end of each chapter, a ìFuture Directionsî section helps social workers understand what to expect and how to prepare for changes in order to practice successfully. This third edition additionally encompasses updated professional profiles for diverse arenas of practice and is accompanied by an Instructorís Manual that provides a test bank, activities designed to enhance learning, and a sample syllabus. Completely new or updated sections examine: Mental health parity Changes in billing Evidence-based practice strategy Electronic record keeping and other advances in health technology Information related to the DSM-5 Protecting yourself legally in your documentation Protecting the privacy of the client Supervision in the health care setting The importance of teamwork and collaboration Social work in the military and VA settings Safety planning

In response to the many changes currently going on in health care, this book offers the combined insight and wisdom of a stellar group of scholars and professionals with extensive experience in the health care field. The book opens with a look at people's actual experience of health care today, from four different perspectives. It then addresses foundational questions, including the nature of medicine, nursing, and justice. Surveyed next are the changing economics of health care as well as the impact of these changes on such areas as mental health care, long-term care, health care for minorities, and legal malpractice. The closing section of the book assesses from a Christian perspective available constructive alternatives, including creative funding strategies with special attention to the needs of poor persons, physician unions, and the use of "alternative medicine" therapies.

Full of practice-oriented tips, questions for further study, select online resources, and professional "profiles" in such diverse arenas as the emergency room, home care, case management, and hospice.

Drawing on the work of the Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine, the 2007 IOM Annual Meeting assessed some of the rapidly occurring changes in health care related to new diagnostic and treatment tools, emerging genetic insights, the developments in information technology, and healthcare costs, and discussed the need for a stronger focus on evidence to ensure that the promise of scientific discovery and technological innovation is efficiently captured to provide the right care for the right patient at the right time. As new discoveries continue to expand the universe of medical interventions, treatments, and methods of care, the need for a more systematic approach to evidence development and application becomes increasingly critical. Without better information about the effectiveness of different treatment options, the resulting uncertainty can lead to the delivery of services that may be unnecessary, unproven, or even harmful. Improving the evidence-base for medicine holds great potential to increase the quality and efficiency of medical care. The Annual Meeting, held on October 8, 2007, brought together many of the nation's leading authorities on various aspects of the issues - both challenges and opportunities - to present their perspectives and engage in discussion with the IOM membership.

A comprehensive guide to the structure, synergy, and challenges in U.S. health care delivery Introduction to Health Care Services: Foundations and Challenges offers new insights into the most important sectors of the United States' health care industry and the many challenges the future holds. Designed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the system, this textbook covers the many facets of health care delivery and details the interaction of health, environments, organizations, populations, and the health professions. Written by authors with decades of experience teaching and working in health care administration and management, the book examines the current state and changing face of health care delivery in the United States. Each chapter includes learning objectives and discussion questions that help guide and engage deeper consideration of the issues at hand, providing a comprehensive approach for students. Cases studies demonstrating innovations in the delivery of health care services are also presented. Health care administration requires a thorough understanding of the multiple systems that define and shape the delivery of health care in the United States. At the same time, it is important for students to gain an appreciation of the dilemma confronting policy makers, providers, and patients in the struggle to balance cost, quality, and access. Introduction to Health Care Services: Foundations and Challenges is an in-depth examination of the major health care issues and policy changes that have had an impact on the U.S. health care delivery system. Includes information on U.S. health care delivery, from care to cost, and the forces of change Focuses on major industry players, including providers, insurers, and facilities Highlights challenges facing health care delivery in the future, including physician shortages, quality care, and the chronic disease epidemic The U.S. health care system is undergoing major reform, and the effects will ripple across every sector of the industry. Introduction to Health Care Services: Foundations and Challenges gives students a complete introduction to understanding the issues and ramifications.

The Institute of Medicine study Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001) recommended that an interdisciplinary summit be held to further reform of health professions education in order to enhance quality and patient safety. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality is the follow up to that summit, held in June 2002, where 150 participants across disciplines and occupations developed ideas about how to integrate a core set of competencies into health professions education. These core competencies include patient-centered care, interdisciplinary teams, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and informatics. This book recommends a mix of approaches to health education improvement, including those related to oversight processes, the training environment, research, public reporting, and leadership. Educators, administrators, and health professionals can use this book to help achieve an approach to education that better prepares clinicians to meet both the needs of patients and the requirements of a changing health care system.

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.