Dictionary

B

Black Box WarningTermBoxed Warning, FDA Boxed Warning

The most serious US drug warning type, displayed prominently in a bordered box on prescribing information, highlighting significant serious risk.

Blame-Free ReportingTermNo-Blame Reporting, Non-Punitive Reporting

An approach to safety incident reporting emphasising systemic factors behind an error rather than assigning individual blame, encouraging more open reporting.

Blended PaymentTermMixed Payment, Hybrid Payment Model

An arrangement combining elements of two or more payment methodologies, such as fee-for-service and capitation, to balance incentives and risk.

BlindingTermMasking, Treatment Masking

A trial feature in which one or more parties, such as participants or assessors, are kept unaware of a given participant's treatment assignment.

Block RandomizationConceptBlock Randomisation, Permuted Block Randomisation

Block randomization is a restricted allocation method that randomly orders prespecified treatment counts within successive blocks to limit imbalance in assignment numbers during a trial.

Blood IncompatibilityTermABO Incompatibility, Transfusion Incompatibility

A serious, generally preventable safety event where a patient receives a transfusion incompatible with their blood type, risking severe immune reaction.

Blood Safety CoverageTermBlood Supply Safety, Safe Blood Coverage

A measure of the extent to which a health system's blood supply is adequately screened and managed for safe transfusion.

Blood Transfusion ConsentTermTransfusion Consent, Blood Product Consent

The specific informed consent process addressing the risks and alternatives of receiving a blood transfusion, obtained separately given its distinct risks.

Body of EvidenceTermEvidence Body, Overall Evidence

The complete collection of relevant studies addressing a particular clinical or health economic question, considered together rather than any single study alone.

Bond FinancingTermHealthcare Bonds, Debt Financing

The use of government or institutional bonds, debt repaid over time with interest, to fund large-scale healthcare infrastructure investment.

Bone Infection EconomicsTermOsteomyelitis Economics, Bone Infection Cost Analysis

The application of health economic evaluation to osteomyelitis, bone tissue infection typically requiring prolonged antibiotics and sometimes surgical intervention.

Boost InterventionTermBoosting, Competence-Building Intervention

An intervention that strengthens a person's own decision-making skills, such as statistical literacy, rather than changing the choice environment.

Bootstrap Standard ErrorConceptBootstrapped SE, Resampled Standard Error

Bootstrap standard error is the standard deviation of an estimate, such as mean trial cost, recalculated across many resamples of the observed data.

BootstrappingConceptBootstrapping Method, Bootstrap Resampling

Bootstrapping is a resampling method that approximates the sampling distribution of an estimator by repeatedly recalculating it on samples drawn with replacement from the observed data or generated from a fitted model.

Borrowing For HealthTermHealth-Related Borrowing, Medical Debt Borrowing

A coping strategy in which a household takes on debt to cover healthcare costs, an indicator of financial distress.

Bottom-Up Cost-of-IllnessTermBottom-Up COI, Prevalence-Based Bottom-Up Costing

A cost-of-illness study estimating a disease's economic burden by aggregating detailed cost data collected at the individual patient level.

Bottom-Up CostingConceptIngredient-Based Costing, Patient-Level Costing

Bottom-up costing estimates the cost of care by measuring the resources used for a patient, service, or pathway and valuing each resource with an appropriate unit cost.

Bounded Rationality ConceptTermBounded Rationality, Satisficing

A theory that decision-makers face limits on information, cognitive capacity, and time, and so settle for satisfactory rather than optimal choices.

Brain DrainTermHealth Worker Emigration, Workforce Outflow

The emigration of highly trained healthcare workers from lower-resource to higher-income countries offering better pay, depleting origin countries' workforce capacity.

BranchTermTree Pathway, Outcome Pathway

A pathway within a decision tree representing one of the possible outcomes or choices available at a given node.

Branching LogicTermPathway Logic, Model Routing Logic

The rules within a decision-analytic model determining which pathway a hypothetical patient follows based on preceding chance or decision nodes.

Brand NameTermBrand-Name Drug, Originator Brand

The proprietary trademarked name under which a manufacturer markets a specific drug product, unlike its generic, non-proprietary chemical name.

Brand TierTermBrand Drug Tier, Branded Formulary Tier

A formulary category for brand-name drugs within a tiered insurance design, typically carrying higher cost-sharing than generic drugs in a lower tier.

Break-Even AnalysisConceptBreakeven Analysis, Cost-Volume Analysis

Break-even analysis finds the price, effect or volume at which a health technology or service becomes cost-effective, cost-neutral or self-financing.

Break-Even PointTermBreakeven Point, Zero-Profit Point

The level of output or activity at which total revenue equals total cost, so an organisation neither gains nor loses money.

Breakthrough DesignationTermBreakthrough Status, Expedited-Review Designation

A regulatory designation for a drug treating a serious condition when preliminary evidence suggests substantial improvement over existing therapies, giving more intensive regulatory guidance.

Breakthrough SeriesTermIHI Collaborative Model, Learning Collaborative Series

A structured quality improvement methodology in which multiple organisations collaborate over a defined period, sharing learning to accelerate a common improvement goal.

Breakthrough TherapyTermBreakthrough Treatment, Breakthrough Drug

A treatment granted a regulatory designation for preliminary evidence of substantial improvement over existing therapies for a serious condition, qualifying for expedited review.

Breast Cancer ScreeningTermMammography Screening, Breast Screening

A public health strategy using mammography and other imaging to detect breast cancer in asymptomatic women at defined age-based intervals.

Bridge TherapyTermBridging Therapy, Bridging Treatment

A treatment given to stabilise a patient's condition during the interval before a more definitive treatment, such as a transplant, can be performed.

Brier ScoreConceptBrier Loss, Probability Score

The Brier score is the mean squared difference between predicted risks and observed binary outcomes, used to judge prediction models; lower is better.

Broad NetworkTermBroad Provider Network, Wide Network

An insurance plan design including a large number of contracted providers, offering enrollees greater choice than a narrower network plan.

Bronze PlanTermBronze Tier Plan, Bronze Metal Plan

A US Affordable Care Act marketplace plan category with a relatively low actuarial value, around sixty percent, giving lower premiums but higher cost-sharing.

Bubble DiagramTermInfluence Sketch, Model Sketch

A simplified visual sketch of a decision-analytic model's structure, using labelled circles and arrows to depict health states before the full build.

Budget AllocationTermBudget Distribution, Fund Allocation

The process of distributing available financial resources across competing programmes, departments, or priorities within a health system.

Budget AmendmentTermBudget Revision, Budget Modification

A formal revision to an approved budget made after the budget cycle has begun, usually to reflect unexpected cost or demand changes.

Budget ApprovalConceptBudget Authorisation, Budget Sign-Off

The authorised decision to allocate or permit specified spending for a defined health purpose, budget holder and period, often with explicit conditions.

Budget CapTermBudget Ceiling, Programme Spending Cap

A fixed upper limit on the total amount a payer will spend on a specific programme, drug class, or budget category.

Budget ConstraintConceptSpending Limit, Fiscal Constraint

The limit on combinations of goods, services or programmes that can be financed from a specified budget at given prices or costs.

Budget ControlTermSpending Oversight, Budget Adherence

The processes used to monitor and ensure actual spending remains within an approved budget, including reporting and variance analysis.

Budget CycleTermBudgeting Cycle, Budget Process

The recurring sequence of stages, typically preparation, approval, execution, and review, through which an organisation plans and manages its spending.

Budget EnvelopeTermFunding Envelope, Spending Envelope

A predetermined total amount of funding allocated to a programme or sector, within which detailed spending decisions are made.

Budget ExecutionTermBudget Implementation, Budget Disbursement

The process of implementing an approved budget, including disbursing funds, tracking expenditure, and keeping spending within authorised limits.

Budget FlexibilityTermBudgetary Flexibility, Budget Adjustability

The degree to which a budget can be adjusted in response to changing circumstances without formal reapproval.

Budget HolderTermBudget Manager, Fundholder

An individual or department with formal responsibility for managing a defined portion of an organisation's budget.

Budget ImpactConceptBudgetary Impact, Spending Impact

Budget impact is the change in spending a budget holder can expect from adopting a health technology or policy, estimated by budget impact analysis.

Budget Impact AnalysisConceptBIA, Budget Impact Assessment

Budget impact analysis (BIA) estimates how adopting a new health technology would change spending for a particular budget holder over the next few years.

Budget Impact CriterionTermBudget-Impact Threshold Criterion, BIA Criterion

A standard determining whether a new technology's projected budget impact is significant enough to warrant additional scrutiny or a modified pathway.

Budget Impact ModelConceptBIM, Budget Impact Spreadsheet

A budget impact model estimates how introducing, removing, or changing use of a health technology will alter expenditure for a specified budget holder over a short- to medium-term planning horizon.

Budget Impact Model PharmaTermManufacturer Budget Impact Model, Pharma BIM

A budget impact model developed by a pharmaceutical manufacturer to project a product's financial consequences, typically submitted alongside a cost-effectiveness analysis.