ABSTRACT
Patient and family centered care is at the heart of the social worker and case manager roles. Neuroscience social workers are educated at a master's degree level and are certified or licensed by the state in which they are employed. Critical to the role of the social worker is verification of advance medical directives. A patient should be able to incorporate informed consent into their decision-making process. The social worker and case manager work in conjunction with the interdisciplinary team to develop an understanding of the patient's and caregiver's home situation. The social worker and case manager will utilize the advanced practice health professional to clarify a patient's admission status and discharge needs (medications, outpatient therapies, clarification of discharge orders to a receiving facility). Appropriate identification of the patient's admission order assists the social worker and case manager in defining the appropriate trajectory of the hospital stay.
