Introduction

Clearer definitions of professional role and functions have helped social workers accrue greater autonomy and accountability in complex health care organizations. The articles included in this chapter examine this development; they illustrate the progression from services based on referrals by others toward broader, population-based approaches in which social workers themselves identify patients’ psychosocial needs, initiate services, establish independent priorities, and develop social work management systems in response to calls for greater accountability in an era of increased fiscal and regulatory constraints.