The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures) is a bipartisan health care innovation law enacted by Congress in 2016 that includes provisions to promote the free flow of health information and interoperability.
Taking social risk factors into account is critical to improving the prevention and treatment of acute and chronic illness. Social workers are specialists in providing social care who have a long history of working within health care delivery, and in-depth training and credentialing. With expertise in patient and family engagement, assessment, care planning, behavioral health, and systems navigation, social workers identify and address multiple factors that contribute to health and well-being.
NASW played a lead role in conceiving and funding The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Consensus Study Report, Integrating Social Care into the Delivery of Health Care: Moving Upstream to Improve the Nation’s Health. This landmark report recognizes that social workers are specialists in identifying and addressing social needs, and it includes numerous recommendations to ensure that the nation’s health care systems address the many factors that contribute to health.
Social workers, like many health and behavioral health professionals, are concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on their well-being, the people to whom they provide services, their families, and others in the community. Social workers are in a unique position to promote disease prevention efforts (including disseminating accurate information from trusted sources), and to help address anxiety and other concerns that are arising as a result of this public health crisis.
Updates on what social workers need to know now.
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