Social Work Services and Patient Decision Making

Booknews

Analyzes the effect of the decision making environment for social workers and their patients on patient satisfaction and psychosocial outcomes, and the impact of disagreements and type of patients' problems on social work time expenditure per patient. Studies cost drivers such as length of hospital stay, income level, and family disagreement over discharge destination, and finds that most social workers are able to spend very little time with their patients. The author recommends that more effort be spent in a careful action-based cost analysis of social work to provide patients with better care. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.