Facilitates appropriate use of health care resources across the continuum of care and addresses those psychosocial aspects that interfere with patients optimal health functioning.

• This position, knows and complies with all Kaiser Permanente quality, safety, and emergency policies and procedures. Demonstrates quality and effectiveness in work habits and clinical practice in every interaction with patients, colleagues, providers, and leadership. Ensures patient safety in the preparation and provisioning of care related to but not limited to medications, procedures, infection prevention, fall prevention, including consistent use of two patient identifiers and procedural time outs. Reports safety hazards, accidents and incidents, and unsafe working conditions promptly.
• Contributes to optimal health outcomes of members by assessing and intervening in psychosocial problems, determining components of problems and contributing factors and evaluating emotional components and impact of illness.
• Participates in program development, orientation, and education activities that foster members capability to better direct their own health care experience (e.g. support/education group).
• Develops and implements staff training related to psychosocial issues of health to provide cross training of employees, specific to job related training and other approaches to provide opportunities for staff flexibility and development.
• Ensures that the social work interventions are effective, appropriate, and timely by maintaining thorough knowledge of Kaiser Permanente services and benefits, public income maintenance programs, public and private community resources, federal/state laws and departmental policies and procedures.
• Contributes to the development and implementation of cost-effective, appropriate healthcare plans by assisting members with accessing community resources and appropriate access to medical care.
• Promotes multidisciplinary care planning in developing outpatient continuity of care that is patient-centered and considers all aspects of the patient/family personal, psychosocial/economic and cultural needs.
• Ensures that the developed treatment plan includes necessary assistance to patient, family members and others to cope more effectively with the patients illness and trauma.
• Complies with and observes established departmental policies and procedures, objects, records, reports, files, quality improvements, safety, environment and infection control standards.