By Sue Coyle, MSW
Clinical social workers have access to many types of artificial intelligence, with programs and systems that run the gamut from virtual assistants to documentation tools and more. It is up to the social worker to determine what tool best suits them and their needs.
For example, a social worker may employ a form of AI that allows them to dictate notes, saving them time from inputting it manually, particularly if they have difficulty typing or other accessibility concerns.
In fact, increased efficiency is, quite likely, the most appealing part of AI. “One of the biggest benefits is saving time,” says Marina Badillo-Diaz, DSW, LCSW, founder of The AI Social Worker and adjunct professor at New York University, Columbia University and Louisiana State University. “But I put a caveat with that, because it can’t save you all the time,” she cautions. “You still have to read over the responses; you still have to edit; you still have to re-prompt it if you’re not getting the responses you’re necessarily looking for.”
Even some time saved is better than no time saved, and social workers can turn to AI to help with dictating or transcribing notes, writing assessments and writing letters or other communications, provided they are responsibly reviewing whatever is created.
“(AI) can be helpful in creating a treatment plan or finding resources for someone that you can print out at the end of the meeting,” adds Amanda Baranski, DSW, LCSW, LMNIT, lecturer at the Department of Social Work in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Read the full story in the NASW Social Work Advocates magazine
