Assessing the effect of a regional integrated care model over ten years using quality indicators based on claims data - the basic statistical methodology of the INTEGRAL project.

We believe that our approach can handle the major statistical challenges: population differences are addressed by standardization; we offer transparency with respect to the derivation of the key figures; global time trends and structural changes do not invalidate the analyses; the regional variation in time trends is taken into account. Overall, the project demanded substantial efforts to ensure adequateness, validity and transparency.