Managed care and social work: constructing a context and a response.

Managed care is described as a strategy developed by the health care industry as a means to control profitability in the dispersement of health care resources. Control of utilization, cost and information are the essential elements of this strategy. The potential impact of each strategy on social work practice is explored. A number of suggestions are made to insure that managed care balances the needs of its corporate sponsors with those of the consumer public and providers of health care.