Dictionary

S

SubsidyTermPublic Support, Government Grant

A government payment made to producers or consumers to encourage the production or consumption of a particular good or service.

Substance Abuse PolicyTermSubstance Misuse Policy, Illicit Drug Policy

Government policy addressing substance use disorders and their consequences, covering prevention, treatment funding, and harm reduction initiatives.

Substance Use DisorderTermSUD, Addiction

A condition marked by an inability to control use of a substance despite significant harmful consequences, including dependence on alcohol, opioids, or other drugs.

Substance Use EconomicsTermEconomics of Substance Use, Addiction Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to substance use disorders broadly, covering prevention, medication-assisted treatment, and behavioural therapy.

Substituted JudgmentTermSubstituted Judgement, Proxy Judgment

A decision standard for a surrogate acting for a patient lacking capacity, choosing what the patient themselves would have chosen based on known values.

Substitution EffectTermSubstitution Response, Relative-Price Effect

The change in quantity of a good consumed that results purely from a change in its relative price, holding purchasing power constant.

SUCRAConceptSurface Under the Cumulative Ranking Curve, Cumulative Ranking Probability

An abbreviation for the surface under the cumulative ranking curve, ranking treatments in a Bayesian network meta-analysis by probability of being most effective.

Suicide PreventionTermSuicide Risk Reduction, Self-Harm Prevention

Interventions and policies reducing suicide incidence, covering crisis hotlines, means restriction policies, and targeted clinical care for at-risk individuals.

Suits IndexConceptSuits Progressivity Index, Tax Progressivity Index

A measure of the progressivity of a tax or financing system, using a concentration curve plotting cumulative tax burden against cumulative income.

Sullivan MethodConceptSullivan Approach, Prevalence-Based Life Expectancy

A technique for calculating health expectancy measures by combining age-specific mortality rates from a life table with age-specific prevalence rates of disability.

Summary of BenefitsTermSBC, Coverage Summary Document

A standardised document presenting a plan's key coverage terms, costs, and benefits in a concise, comparable format for consumers.

Summary ROC CurveConceptSROC, Summary Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve, HSROC Curve

A summary ROC (SROC) curve pools diagnostic accuracy studies to show how a test's sensitivity trades off against specificity across positivity thresholds.

Summative EvaluationTermOutcome Evaluation, Summative Assessment

An evaluation conducted after a programme has been fully implemented, intended to assess its overall effectiveness and inform a final judgement.

Sunk CostTermUnrecoverable Cost, Retrospective Cost

A cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered regardless of future decisions.

Sunset ClauseTermExpiry Clause, Time-Limited Provision

A provision within a managed entry agreement specifying a defined expiration date, after which the arrangement automatically ends unless renewed.

Superiority TrialTermSuperiority Study, Superiority Design

A trial designed to show a new treatment produces a better outcome than its comparator, unlike a non-inferiority or equivalence trial.

Supplemental BudgetTermSupplementary Budget, Additional Appropriation

An additional budget allocation approved after the original budget cycle, usually to cover unforeseen spending needs beyond the original appropriation.

Supplementary BenefitsTermSupplementary Cover, Add-On Benefits

Additional healthcare services covered beyond a health system's core essential benefits package, often through supplementary insurance or extra cost.

Supplementary Protection CertificateTermCertificate of Supplementary Protection, Drug Patent Extension

Additional EU intellectual property protection extending a patented drug's effective market exclusivity to compensate for time lost during regulatory review.

Supplier-Induced DemandConceptSID, Provider-Induced Demand

The phenomenon in which providers, using their informational advantage, influence the quantity or type of care demanded beyond what informed patients would choose.

SupplyConceptProvision of Goods

The quantity of a good or service producers are willing and able to offer for sale at a given price over a specified period.

Supply Chain Management HealthTermHealthcare Supply Chain Management, Health Logistics

The processes involved in sourcing, procuring, and distributing medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, ensuring reliable availability while managing costs.

Supply CurveTermSupply Schedule, Supply Function

A graph showing the relationship between price and the quantity producers are willing to supply, typically sloping upward as price rises.

Supply PriceTermSupply-Side Price, Producer Ask Price

The minimum price at which a producer is willing to sell a given quantity of a good or service.

Supply-Side ControlTermSupply-Side Measure, Provider-Side Control

Cost containment strategies targeting provider behaviour directly, such as utilisation review, unlike demand-side controls targeting patient incentives.

Supportive TherapyTermSupportive Treatment, Symptom-Directed Therapy

Treatment managing the symptoms and side effects of an underlying condition or its primary treatment, rather than treating the disease itself.

Surge Capacity CostTermSurge Cost, Capacity Surge Cost

The expense of maintaining a health system's ability to rapidly expand service capacity in response to a sudden demand increase.

Surgery EconomicsTermSurgical Economics, Economics of Surgery, Urology Economics, Economics of Urology, Urological Economics

The broad application of health economic evaluation to surgical procedures across specialties, comparing surgical against non-surgical alternatives and comparing techniques.

Surgical Care ImprovementTermSCIP, Perioperative Care Bundle

A quality improvement initiative reducing preventable surgical complications through adherence to defined evidence-based care processes, such as antibiotic timing.

Surgical SafetyTermSafe Surgery, Perioperative Safety

A patient safety dimension focused on preventing harm during surgery, covering structured checklists, antibiotic timing, and surgical team communication.

Surgical TherapyTermOperative Therapy, Surgical Treatment

Treatment involving a surgical procedure to address a medical condition, unlike pharmacological or other non-surgical treatment approaches.

SurplusTermWelfare Gain, Net Benefit to Society

An excess of revenue over spending within a budget period, representing funds that can be saved, reinvested, or returned.

Surprise BillingTermSurprise Medical Bill, Unexpected Bill

A situation where a patient receives an unexpected bill from an out-of-network provider, most commonly during emergency care.

Surrogate Decision-MakerTermSubstitute Decision-Maker, Patient Representative

An individual authorised to make healthcare decisions on behalf of a patient lacking the capacity to make their own.

Surrogate EndpointConceptSurrogate Outcome, Surrogate Marker

A trial outcome used as a substitute for a direct clinical benefit measure, such as survival, based on its expected predictive relationship to that outcome.

Surrogate EvidenceTermBiomarker-Based Evidence, Intermediate-Marker Evidence

Data based on an intermediate biomarker used as a substitute for a direct measure of clinical benefit, when final outcome data are unavailable.

Survey DataTermQuestionnaire Data, Survey Responses

Information collected by directly asking individuals structured questions about their characteristics, behaviour, or experiences, typically through an interview or questionnaire.

Survival AnalysisConceptSurvival Methods, Time-to-Event Analysis

Survival analysis examines the time from a defined origin to an event such as death, disease progression, hospitalisation, recovery or treatment discontinuation.

Survival FunctionConceptSurvivor Function, Survivorship Function

A function giving the probability that a person survives without the event of interest beyond a specified point in time.

Survival RegressionConceptTime-to-Event Regression, Survival Model

A modelling approach estimating the relationship between predictor variables and a time-to-event outcome, including the Cox model and parametric survival models.

SurvivorshipTermLife After Cancer, Post-Treatment Phase, Cancer Survivor, Post-Treatment Patient

The state of living with, through, and beyond a cancer diagnosis, covering the period from diagnosis onward regardless of ongoing treatment.

Survivorship CareTermPost-Cancer Care, Cancer Aftercare

Healthcare services and support provided after completing active treatment for a serious illness, addressing surveillance and late treatment effects.

SustainabilityTermEnduring Capacity, Continued Viability

The capacity of a health system or programme to be maintained long term without depleting resources needed to meet future needs.

Sustainability EvaluationTermSustainability Assessment

An assessment of whether the resource use of a programme can be maintained over time without compromising future capacity.

Sustainable Development GoalsTermSDGs, UN Global Goals

A set of seventeen interconnected global objectives adopted by UN member states, addressing social, economic, and environmental priorities including health.

Sustained OutcomeTermLasting Outcome, Maintained Outcome

A clinical or economic outcome that persists over an extended period following treatment, rather than a transient improvement that soon reverses.

SWEMWBSConceptShort Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, Short WEMWBS

SWEMWBS, the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale, is a seven-item, Rasch-scored measure of positive mental wellbeing for programme evaluations.

SwitchingTermTherapy Change, Product Change

A general term for a change from one medication to another, whether for clinical reasons or non-clinical reasons such as a formulary change.

SWOT AnalysisTermSWOT, Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats

A strategic planning framework structuring an evaluation of internal strengths and weaknesses alongside external opportunities and threats.

Symptom AssessmentTermSymptom Evaluation, Symptom Appraisal

The systematic process of measuring the presence, frequency, and severity of disease-related symptoms, typically using standardised, validated instruments.