Title: the impact of a pilot integrated care model on the quality and costs of inpatient care among chinese elderly: a difference-in-difference analysis of repeated cross-sectional data

BACKGROUND: Recently, integrated care has received tremendous popularity in China, a leading example of which is the Luohu model. In the present analysis, we aimed to examine the impacts of the Luohu model on the quality and costs of inpatient care. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis using administrative claims databases of Shenzhen City (the city that the Luohu district sits) from Jan 2015–Apr 2017, which encompassed the time before and after the implementation of the pilot model. The outcomes were 30-day readmission, inpatient costs, and length of stay (LOS). Multivariable difference-in-difference analyses were conducted. RESULTS: In the first year following the integration, the Luohu model did not have impacts on any of the outcomes. Although its effect on readmission (ratio of odds ratio: 1.082; 95% CI: 0.865 to 1.353) was still not identified in the first four months of the second post-integration year, it decreased inpatient costs by CN¥ 1224.1 (95% CI: 372.7 to 2075.5) and LOS by 0.938 days (95% CI: 0.0416 to 1.835) per hospitalization episode during the same period. CONCLUSIONS: The Luohu model may reduce costs and LOS in the long term. It is potentially a viable approach to improve the value of inpatient care in China. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12962-022-00361-4.