An academic health science centre (AHSC; also known as an academic health sciences centre, an academic health science(s) system, an academic health science(s) partnership or an academic medical centre) is defined by the Association of Academic Health Centers as: "an educational institution that includes a medical school and at least one allied health professional school and either owns or is affiliated with a teaching hospital or healthcare system". AHSCs are intended to ensure that medical research breakthroughs lead to direct clinical benefits for patients. The organisational structures that comprise an AHSC can take a variety of forms, ranging from simple partnerships to, less frequently, fully integrated organisations with a single management board. There are AHSCs operating in a numbe