Health service integration (HS1) has been embraced by Australia's National Public Health Partnership,3 and
internationally by the World Health Organization as a way of ensuring an abundance of substantial
improvements for health care clients, professionals and organisations.4 HSI involves identifying different
services provided for the same group of clients and managing them in a more coordinated manner. It attempts
to cut across traditional providerfocused service management arrangements by focusing on the multiple needs
of a defined group of service users. It is a strategy aimed firmly at ensuring that service provision is oriented
towards clients not providers, and, as such, fits into the public sector approach implemented worldwide since
the early 1980s.5 HSI is believed to offer clients a more coordinated and timely approach to health care
delivery, genuine opportunities to participate in their individual health care needs, and consistent information
about health education issues and knowledge about how to access appropriate health services