Social work practice in health care: looking to the future with a different lens.

Social work practice in health care must change to better meet the needs of individuals and their families as the system of care changes from an acute care focus to a community based focus and as individuals seek more active participation in their own care decisions. Practitioners and educators must renew their partnership to create a practice based on the needs of individuals to move most effectively through a more complex system of care and back home again. A paradigmatic shift can redefine social work in health care for the future. Renewed leadership with vision is required.