Healthcare Social Workers

On the other hand, many core duties remain human jobs. Changing a care plan when someone’s situation shifts, talking through sensitive issues in person, and building trust with a patient are very hard to automate. Studies note that patients and providers value the “human touch” – people worry AI might make care feel cold or unsafe ^{[3] [2]}.

In practice, we haven’t found examples of AI deciding treatment changes or fully handling community referrals. Instead, AI is mostly used behind the scenes to help with records, not to replace a social worker’s judgment.

However, adoption still faces hurdles. A recent industry survey found most healthcare teams feel unprepared for AI – staff may lack the needed tech skills – and over 90% worry about privacy and security ^[1]. Many clinics run on older electronic health systems that are hard to upgrade.

Importantly, both workers and patients expect strict safeguards: people emphasize they want consent and human oversight if AI is used with their data ^[3]. In short, while AI tools can help with research and records, the hands-on, caring parts of social work remain firmly in human hands. The hope is that AI will take on routine tasks so social workers can focus on the personal, empathetic work that only people can do ^{[2] [3]}.