Dictionary

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Cost-Effectiveness AnalysisConceptCEA, Cost per Outcome Analysis

Cost-effectiveness analysis compares healthcare options by the extra cost of each extra unit of health gained, such as cost per life-year gained.

Cost-Effectiveness CriterionTermCE Criterion, Value Threshold Standard

The specific standard, typically a threshold, an assessment body uses to judge whether a technology's ICER represents acceptable value for money.

Cost-Effectiveness FrontierConceptCE Frontier, Cost-Effectiveness Efficiency Frontier, Efficient Frontier in Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

The cost-effectiveness frontier is the boundary of feasible strategies whose expected cost and effect combinations are not ruled out by strict or extended dominance under a specified decision framework.

Cost-Effectiveness League TableTermCE League Table, ICER League Table

A ranked list comparing incremental cost-effectiveness ratios across many separate studies, intended to help prioritise resource allocation across a health system.

Cost-Effectiveness PlaneConceptCE Plane, Incremental Cost-Effect Plane

The cost-effectiveness plane graphs incremental cost (y-axis) against incremental effect (x-axis); its four quadrants show dominance or a trade-off.

Cost-Effectiveness PolicyTermCE Policy Analysis, Cost-Effectiveness Appraisal Policy

A policy analysis approach comparing costs and non-monetary outcomes, such as health gains, without converting outcomes into monetary terms.

Cost-Effectiveness ThresholdConceptCE Threshold, ICER Threshold, Cost per QALY Threshold

A cost-effectiveness threshold is the maximum cost per QALY gained that a health system treats as value for money when deciding which treatments to fund.

Cost-Minimisation AnalysisConceptCMA, Cost-Minimization Analysis

Cost-minimisation analysis compares only the costs of healthcare options, and is valid only when evidence shows their health outcomes are equivalent.

Cost-of-Illness StudyConceptCOI Study, Burden of Disease Costing

A cost-of-illness study estimates the economic burden of a disease, including healthcare costs, patient and carer costs, and lost productivity.

Cost-Offset AnalysisTermCost Offset Study, Savings Offset Analysis

An analysis examining whether the extra cost of an intervention is partly or fully offset by savings elsewhere, such as fewer hospital admissions.

Cost-Plus PricingTermCost-Plus Markup, Full-Cost Pricing

A cost-based pricing form adding a fixed markup percentage or amount to production cost to determine the selling price.

Cost-Sharing ReductionTermCSR, Cost-Sharing Subsidy

A policy or benefit feature lowering the out-of-pocket amount a patient pays for healthcare, typically targeted at lower-income individuals.

Cost-to-Charge RatioConceptCCR, Cost-Charge Ratio

A cost-to-charge ratio is a provider accounting cost divided by its corresponding billed charges for a defined set of services and period, used to estimate costs from charge data when direct patient-level costs are unavailable.

Cost-Utility AnalysisConceptCUA, QALY-Based Cost-Effectiveness

Cost-utility analysis is an economic evaluation that measures health gains in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and reports cost per QALY gained.

Country-Specific Value SetTermNational Value Set, Country Tariff

A set of utility weights derived from a representative sample of a particular country's population, used to convert instrument responses into a utility score.

Coverage BroadeningTermBreadth Expansion, Population-Reach Expansion

An expansion in the proportion of a population covered by a health financing scheme, one dimension of progress toward universal health coverage.

Coverage DecisionConceptFunding Decision, Payer Coverage Ruling, Coverage Determination

The formal determination by a payer or assessment body regarding whether, and under what conditions, a technology will be reimbursed.

Coverage DeepeningTermDepth Expansion, Service-Range Expansion

An expansion in the range of services covered or depth of financial protection provided by a scheme, distinct from population breadth.

Coverage ErrorTermFrame Error, Coverage Bias

A survey error arising when the sampling frame used does not fully or accurately represent the target population, excluding or wrongly including groups.

Coverage ExpansionTermCoverage Extension, Scope Expansion

An increase in the scope of individuals eligible for insurance, the services covered, or both, typically achieved through policy change.

Coverage GapTermMedicare Part D Doughnut Hole, Prescription Coverage Band

A period or category of drug spending for which a plan provides reduced or no coverage, notably within the US Medicare Part D benefit.

Coverage Gap AnalysisTermService Gap Analysis, Unmet-Need Analysis

An examination of the difference between health services a population needs and those it actually receives, identifying improvement priorities.

Coverage PolicyTermCoverage Rules, Reimbursement Policy Rules

The overall set of rules a payer establishes governing which services and treatments will be reimbursed, and under what conditions.

Coverage SubmissionTermCoverage Application, Funding Submission

A formal application submitted by a manufacturer presenting clinical and economic evidence supporting a request for coverage of a technology.

Covered EntityTermRegulated Entity, Privacy-Regulated Organisation

A US legal classification covering providers, health plans, and clearinghouses subject to specific patient health information protection requirements.

Covered ServiceTermCovered Benefit, Reimbursable Service

A healthcare service for which an insurance plan has agreed to pay, subject to the plan's specific terms and cost-sharing requirements.

COVID EconomicsTermCOVID-19 Economics, Coronavirus Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to COVID-19, covering vaccination programmes, treatment strategies, and public health interventions such as testing.

Cox Proportional HazardsConceptCox Model, Cox Regression

The Cox proportional hazards model is a semiparametric survival model that relates covariates to the instantaneous event rate while leaving the baseline hazard unspecified.

Cox-Snell ResidualConceptCox-Snell Residuals

A Cox-Snell residual is a survival model's fitted cumulative hazard at a patient's observed time, used to check overall fit against a unit exponential.

CRE EconomicsTermCarbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Economics, CRE Cost-Effectiveness

The application of health economic evaluation to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections, a highly drug-resistant bacterial group posing a serious resistance threat.

Cream SkimmingConceptCherry Picking, Favourable Risk Selection

Cream skimming is when an insurer or provider attracts people expected to cost less than it is paid for them and deters those expected to cost more.

Credence GoodTermCredence Product, Trust Good

A good whose quality or necessity cannot be reliably judged by the consumer even after purchase, since doing so needs specialist expertise they lack.

Credential VerificationTermPrimary Source Verification, Credential Check

The process of independently confirming a healthcare provider's claimed education, training, licensure, and professional history before granting practice privileges.

CredentialingTermPrivileging, Qualification Verification

The overall process by which an organisation verifies and evaluates a provider's qualifications before authorising them to practice within it.

Credibility AssessmentConceptCredibility Evaluation, Model Trustworthiness Review

An overall evaluation of whether a model's structure, evidence base, and validation results provide enough confidence to inform a real decision.

Credible IntervalConceptBayesian Interval, Posterior Interval

A credible interval is a set of parameter values containing a stated share of the posterior probability under a specified Bayesian model and observed data.

Credible Interval EstimationConceptBayesian Interval Estimation, Posterior Interval Estimation

The Bayesian process of calculating a range of plausible values for a parameter based on its estimated posterior probability distribution.

Crisis InterventionTermCrisis Care, Acute Crisis Response

A short-term, intensive treatment for an acute mental health crisis, intended to stabilise the situation and connect the individual with ongoing care.

CRISPRTermCas9 System, Guided Genome Editing

A gene editing technology using a guided enzyme system to precisely target and modify specific DNA sequences, underlying a growing gene therapy pipeline.

Criterion ValidityConceptCriterion-Related Validity, Reference-Standard Validity

Criterion validity is the degree to which a measure's scores agree with a gold standard for the same concept, assessed at the same time or later.

Critical Access HospitalTermCAH, Small Rural Hospital Designation

A designation for small, rural hospitals meeting defined criteria, qualifying them for enhanced Medicare reimbursement to support financial viability.

Critical AppraisalTermStudy Appraisal, Evidence Critical Review

The systematic process of carefully and objectively assessing a research study's trustworthiness, relevance, and results before using it to inform a decision.

Critical Care EconomicsTermIntensive Care Economics, ICU Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to intensive care unit treatment and staffing, an area marked by exceptionally high per-patient costs.

Critical ValueConceptRejection Threshold, Significance Cutoff

A critical value is a cutoff on a test statistic's reference distribution that defines a rejection boundary for a specified hypothesis test and error level.

Crohn Disease EconomicsTermCrohn's Disease Economics, IBD Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to Crohn's disease, comparing conventional immunosuppressive therapy against newer, more targeted biologic treatments.

Cross Validity AssessmentTermCross-Validity Check, Generalisation Assessment

An evaluation of whether a model's predictions remain accurate when applied to a different but related dataset or population than the original.

Cross-Price ElasticityConceptCross-Elasticity of Demand, Cross Elasticity

Cross-price elasticity measures how demand for one good responds to a change in another good's price: positive for substitutes, negative for complements.

Cross-Sectional DataTermCross-Sectional Dataset, Snapshot Data

Data collected from a population at a single point in time, capturing exposure and outcome status simultaneously without following individuals over time.

Cross-Sectional DesignConceptPrevalence Study Design, Point-Prevalence Design

A cross-sectional design is an observational design that measures exposure and outcome in a population at one point in time, often to estimate prevalence.

Cross-Sectional StudyTermPrevalence Study, Point-in-Time Study

A study examining a defined population at a single point in time, measuring prevalence without following participants over time.