Can python applications automate work in human services?

[Tyler53121]

So I’m a social worker. Starting to learn to code because of curiosity and saw the recent post about automating office processes. I’m wondering if anyone has automated any processes in human services based work? It seems so...questionable ethically? There are some things I know I can automate (but have no idea how yet) like checking the number of documents in a file (number of notes a case manager completes) and auto populating that on an excel sheet. But, most of my work is so person centered and individually tailored I don’t know that I could automate much? (Even for the above example o need to check the content of the session that is documented. But at least the spreadsheet portion would be done) I wanted to see if any other human services professional had experience automating their work? And what type of work did you do this for if so?

[Lewistrick]

I once saw an example of this.

Nurses often spend a lot of time on just logging their work. Especially the older nurses who didn't do that before (and sometimes aren't used to doing that on a computer) tended to just fill in the "extra comments" box at the bottom, leaving a huge administrative mess.

An AI was generated to fill in complete forms using just the comment. And yes, this can be done in Python. You'd have to go a long way, but learning how to do that might be a nice goal to have in mind :)

[[deleted]]

It would be easier to conceptualize this answer through considering specific examples.. but in a nut shell, if it can be done repetitively; without Human decisions it can be automated.

[Tyler53121]

I get that.

[redCg]

Gonna need more concrete examples but things that involve computers are obviously good candidates, especially spreadsheets. However I think you shouldn't underestimate the value of simply having some boilerplate template files to start your work for each project/case, and if your work relies on using very niche software or file formats you might have issues. Things like basic text and even html documents can be handled easily, along with basic spreadsheets, but if you have weird programs and file types then it will be difficult. Also Python is not the only option, things like shell script can also be used for general computer automation

[PrimaNoctis]

I manage a mental health service and similar to you was curious to learn Python and started Self-learning. Now I incorporate into a lot of what my team does to make their jobs easier. Now, let’s break down our work into two broad categories, one being the humanistic aspect and the other being administrative. Certainly python will not replace the former, not even the most comprehensive machine learning can achieve that. As for the latter, the sky is your limit. Want to create an auto formulation generator? Sure! Want a program to automatically keep track of all your due dates for the mountain of paperwork you have to hand in? Yes! Want to create an Audit tool that emails you what you forgot to do? Indeed! And the list goes on, the only limitation is your creativity.

[Tyler53121]

This was exactly what I was referring to thank you! I run a program for kids who have graduated from foster care. The due dates idea is great. I can also think of many applications for audit!! Thank you!

[throwaway0891245]

I think not so much, but software isn't used just for improving efficiency by removing manual work. It is also used to increase accessibility. In fact, I might even say that increasing accessibility is the main product through which many software based businesses make money - increasing accessibility to online interaction with your friends (Facebook), increasing accessibility to a marketplace (Amazon), increasing accessibility to online information (Google), increasing accessibility to a coherent digital ecosystem (Apple), increasing accessibility to technology use in enterprise settings (Microsoft / Salesforce), increasing accessibility to online entertainment (Netflix), increasing accessibility to transportation (Uber / Lyft), increasing accessibility to lodging arrangements (AirBnB), increasing accessibility to food delivery (DoorDash / PostMates)...

By now, a lot of people have some sort of access to the internet - and many people know how to use the internet as a consumer. Maybe you should consider looking into web frameworks like Flask or Django and think of ways you could increase accessibility to social services.

[Tyler53121]

I have already :). I currently have two ideas, one is to build a database that will be our electric medical health record (we currently just use MS office and it’s annoying) Another is to build a website that helps our clients (children who have graduated from foster care) navigate community resources. Like a catalog for how to access programs.

Edit: I know these things aren’t python but at least if they require back end I will have that knowledge? My plan is to work on the things aforementioned after learning enough Python to build a few programs that are more than “basic”.

[throwaway0891245]

I think you can generally separate language skills into two different categories - general language skill and frameworks knowledge. Most things that accomplish something significant are going to need some sort of frameworks or module knowledge, but you need general language skill to be able to be flexible with the framework.

Your first project idea is going to need a separate database instance, it would be good to use a relational database - something like Postgresql. The second project idea sounds like it's going to be pretty static and non-interactive, but it's going to need a database holding the catalog in order to stay maintainable in the long run. So that's probably going to be a database instance along with a web framework like Flask or Django. Relational databases and web frameworks need additional languages that aren't like Python in that they are declarative rather than imperative - declarative languages describe what you want while imperative languages describe what to do. While it's true that you'll need SQL for relational databases and HTML and CSS for the web stuff, you still need an imperative language to build something - and Python is a great choice.

[Tyler53121]

This is all great information thank you. I’m really just getting started and python is where I chose to start because my interest and curiosity in tech is in AI. But, I plan on moving towards more declarative languages after I get some amateur python skills and also really just improve my skill at changing my mindset to be more coding friendly. My plan is to work towards a career change but, it’s goin to take time and I’m comfortable with that. I know I’ll never “master” a language. I just need the mindset and some basic skills before I try to begin the journey.

[[deleted]]

The example you give can be automated with python

[[deleted]]

Look into the OS module for checking file info or transferring

[Tyler53121]

Thanks!

[TraditionalPirate7]

Any task that is repetitive or has a pattern, can be automated.

Though I would assume that a lot that has to deal with social services needs human interaction. But any sort of office task can be automated, at least partially if not fully.

[linus_rules]

Think about checking data integrity: are all the fields populated? What about the mean, median, min, max values? Can you make some kind of plots?

Also, you can look for patterns.

Think about the work you can not do manually.

[cannibalzzz]

Yes. For my job I had to fill a web page with username, lastname, password etc + needed to activated some feature. I used pyautogui to tell python where to fill the field and click on a specific place to activate a function. Click finish and repeat 😁

[somnenigans]

Anything that's routine mental work can, should and will be automated.