The Economic Impact of Paediatric Integrated Care in Primary Care: A Rapid Review

Background: Health systems face mounting pressure to deliver equitable, cost-effective care amid rising disease burden and healthcare costs. Escalating paediatric out of pocket costs and other barriers to access, highlight the need for innovative care models. While integrated care shows promise for paediatric condition management, economic evidence remains limited. Methods: Searches were conducted between 2010 to 2025 on MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL using search terms “integrated care”, “paediatrics”, “primary care” and “cost-effectiveness”. Studies were included if they reported a cost-related outcome of a paediatric integrated care program delivered in primary care. Studies were assessed for methodological reporting quality using the CHEERS guideline. Results: Nine studies met inclusion criteria. Interventions comprised care coordination models (n = 4), MDT-based care (n = 3) and co-consultation models (n = 2). Seven studies reported a favourable economic outcome with six being cost-effective, and one showing cost-savings. Care coordination models showed the strongest evidence for economic impact and clinical effectiveness. Conclusion: Integrated paediatric primary care models, particularly care coordination models, are economically favourable. Complex systems-level interventions show limited financial benefits; however, they are difficult to evaluate without understanding the local context of the intervention. Future research should prioritise improving the quality of economic evaluations and inclusion of societal perspectives into economic evaluation.