Communicating with pediatricians: developing social work practice in primary care

Ethical Issues in Integrated Health Care: Implications for Social Workers

Integrated health care has come of age. What began modestly in the 1930s has evolved into a mature model of health care that is quickly becoming the standard of care. Social workers are now employed in a wide range of comprehensive integrated health care organizations. Some of these settings were designed as integrated health care delivery systems from their beginning. Others evolved over time, some incorporating behavioral health into existing primary care centers and others incorporating primary care into existing behavioral health agencies. In all of these contexts, social workers are encountering complex, sometimes unprecedented, ethical challenges. This article identifies and discusses ethical issues facing social workers in integrated health care settings, especially related to informed consent, privacy, confidentiality, boundaries, dual relationships, and conflicts of interest. The author includes practical resources that social workers can use to develop state-of-the-art ethics policies and protocols.

Opportunities for social work under the Affordable Care Act: A call for action

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has profoundly restructured American health care. Numerous social work authors have commented on the importance of the ACA's reforms to social work practice, education, and research. This article summarizes the literature, adds relevant information, and makes recommendations for future actions. The policy, opinion, and peer-reviewed literatures were systematically reviewed. Sixty-three publications appeared between 2010 and 2015 are included. Five themes emerged, as follows: 1) the crucial provisions of the ACA, 2) the natural affinity of social work and the ACA reforms, 3) curricular adaptations needed to address changing workforce needs, 4) areas for continued social work advocacy, and 5) opportunities for high-impact social work research. This article provides a comprehensive introduction to the ACA, its reforms, and opportunities for social work to assume a high visibility leadership role in implementing the reforms, with particular emphasis on needed curricular changes and opportunities for research.

A phenomenological case study of communication between clinicians about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder assessment

INTRODUCTION

Communication between clinicians related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment is challenging because it involves a number of individuals. While the communication process might be more efficient if these individuals worked together, research on ADHD-specific collaborative care models is scarce. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the parties with whom prescribers communicate and how they collaborate.

METHODS

Providers were interviewed, and the data were analyzed using a phenomenological case study approach.

RESULTS

The results suggested that there were communication breakdowns between providers and teachers that hindered the assessment process.

DISCUSSION

Communication related to ADHD assessment may be more complex than theoretical models may conceptualize.

Social workers in pediatric primary care: communication, gender, and scope of practice

While many child mental health issues manifest themselves in primary care, few pediatricians have received mental health training, and their communication with social workers may be limited due to unfamiliarity with mental health professions. The purpose of this study was to use ethnographic interviews to investigate factors affecting communication satisfaction between social workers and pediatricians. The study found that scope of practice issues were a communication barrier. This barrier is significant because health reform may lead social workers and pediatricians to collaborate more frequently in the future.