Rebecca E. Gwilt speaking at the NASW-VA Annual Meeting
The New Old Frontier: Social Work and the Emergence of Multidisciplinary Patient-centered Care
Nixon Law Group is proud to join with the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers on March 3-5, 2016, at the Hilton Richmond, to discuss the impact of health reform on social workers and their emerging role in value-based, patient-centered health care.
National Association of Social Workers
In recent years, the U.S. primary care delivery system has experienced many changes in the way health care is organized, delivered, and financed. Some of these changes have been strengthened or accelerated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Virginia has also been quite active in policy and legislative change related to health reform. Both public and private health reforms are shifting how health care is delivered and paid for, and this disruption in the status quo is creating opportunities for providers to expand capacity, revenue, and community impact. For social workers in particular, the accelerating focus on the holistic treatment of individuals, taking into consideration their physical and mental health, as well as the environment in which they live and work, is simply an evolution toward the philosophy of practice already entrenched in the field of social work. Therefore, now is a critical time for social workers to find a seat at the table and to define their essential roles in the shifting landscape.
During this session, a panel of experts in social work policy, practice, and law health care attorney will discuss how the roles of social workers will transform in the next 10 years in order to address societal needs and in response to the health care market. Panelists will include Dr. Jean Bennett, Regional Administrator at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), overseeing Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, Nancy Roget, Executive Director of the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies (CASAT) at the University of Nevada, Reno; Rebecca E. Gwilt, a Partner at Nixon Law Group LLC; and Vickie Hawkins-Black, LCSW at Aviso Consulting & Psychotherapy LLC. In particular, we will discuss Virginia reforms related to social work; how social workers can play a key role as a care coordinator in the new world of integrated, team-based, accountable care; and how social workers can use emerging health information technology tools (like telehealth, electronic health records, and mobile health applications) to remain competitive as direct care providers.