Comparative outcomes and clinic utilization of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine in integrated health care in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) implemented the Integrated Health Care (IHC) program in 2016, with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) incorporated into the program in 2019 as a complementary home-based care model. This study aimed to evaluate the utilization patterns and clinical outcomes of TCM-based integrated health care (IHC-TCM) compared with Western Medicine-based integrated health care (IHC-WM). EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) from 2019 to 2021. Patients receiving IHC-TCM were compared with those receiving IHC-WM. Propensity score matching (1:1) was applied to balance baseline characteristics. Logistic regression models were used to estimate mortality outcomes. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Mortality rates at 90-, 180-, and 365-day were 2.7% vs. 0.8%, 5.0% vs. 3.5%, and 7.3% vs. 6.4% for IHC-TCM and IHC-WM, respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed at 90-, 180-, and 365-day follow-ups. However, a non-significant trend toward higher 90-day mortality was observed in the IHC-TCM group (p = 0.057). In terms of healthcare utilization, IHC-TCM was associated with fewer WM outpatient department (OPD) visits, increased TCM utilization, and different ER utilization patterns. IHC-TCM demonstrated comparable long-term mortality outcomes to IHC-WM, although a potential early-phase mortality difference cannot be excluded. Distinct healthcare utilization patterns suggest a substitution effect between TCM and WM services.