Public accountability, quality assurance and social work

The growing demand for public accountability and quality assurance mechanisms affords the social work profession an opportunity to take a more forceful hand in the shaping of the health care delivery system. This paper surveys the impact of public accountability developments on the practice of social work in the health care fields, analyzes what has been done in social work qualtiy assurance, and suggests some strategies for enlarging the scope of social work to include productive new endeavors. Emphasis is placed upon resolution of the conflict between medical and human service treatment models.