Hospital social work roles and decision making.
A comparison of selected New Jersey hospitals in 1975 and 1981 suggests that despite intensive attention to cost control, hospital social work departments have continued to expand and assume an increasingly important role in the hospital. The departments have sustained or enhanced their position with respect to the professionalization of the department, staff size, involvement in patient care, and participation in hospital decision-making. Losses were observed in such areas as hours of coverage and services to discharged patients.
D006748:Hospital Departments; D009515:New Jersey; D012947:Social Work