Clinical Social Work Practice Tools: Practice

NASW is developing a task force for the revision of the 2016 Standards for Social Work Practice in Health Care Settings. NASW reviews and revises these standards to update best practices in the field of health care. Social workers utilize these guidelines to establish protocols and as a reference for delivering high-quality care.

NASW's Practice Team reviewed the 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule and submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) addressing numerous topics that may impact social workers, other healthcare providers, and beneficiaries. 

Presenter:  Karen Goodenough, PhD, MSW, LGSW, Executive Director | National Association of Social Workers, MN & ND Chapters, NASW Licensure Taskforce Chair & Social Work Interstate Compact Representative
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Each summer, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issues proposed regulations regarding Medicare payments for multiple types of services. The NASW Practice Team comments on the proposed rule for calendar year 2027 (CMS-1848-P) addressed numerous topics, including telehealth, psychiatric collaborative care management, shared medical appointments, primary care, advance care planning, community-based palliative care, the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) process, the quality payment program, reimbursement rates for clinical social workers, and Medicare eligibility for immigrants. CMS will release the final rule in November 2026; in early 2027, the NASW Practice Team will publish a summary of social work–related topics within the final rule.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of computer systems to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence (Reamer, 2025). It encompasses various complex models that together make up a rapidly evolving technology capable of understanding language, learning from data, and making predictions or recommendations (Borah et.al, 2026). Machine learning, generative AI, natural language processing, and large language models are just some of the AI technologies relevant to the mental health field.

Coaching is a growing profession in the United States. It is a values-based helping field in which coaches partner with clients to help them achieve growth. Because of its similar vision to social work, many clinical social workers (CSWs) see opening a coaching practice as a way to expand their careers and increase income.