Dictionary

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Composite OutcomeTermCombined Outcome, Multi-Component Outcome

An outcome combining two or more distinct events into a single measure, counted as occurring if any one component event takes place.

Composite Value ScoreTermAggregate Value Score, Overall Value Index

A single, aggregated numerical score combining multiple value criteria, such as clinical benefit and cost, into an overall value assessment.

Computer Vision HealthTermMedical Computer Vision, Health Image Analysis

The application of artificial intelligence enabling computers to interpret visual information, such as medical images, for diagnostic image analysis tasks.

Computerized Order EntryTermCPOE, Computerised Provider Order Entry

A system letting providers enter medical orders directly into a computer rather than on paper, often integrated with decision support.

Concentration CurveConceptLorenz-Type Curve, Cumulative-Share Curve

A concentration curve plots the cumulative share of a health variable against the cumulative share of the population ranked from poorest to richest.

Concentration IndexConceptSocioeconomic Inequality Index

The concentration index measures socioeconomic inequality in a health variable; a negative value means it is disproportionately held by the poor.

Concurrent QueryTermConcurrent Coding Query, Real-Time Query

A request from a documentation specialist to a treating physician, made while a patient is still hospitalised, seeking clarification on documentation.

Concurrent ReviewTermContinued Stay Review, In-Patient Utilisation Review

A utilisation management assessment conducted while a patient is actively receiving care, evaluating whether continued treatment remains medically necessary.

Concurrent Risk AdjustmentConceptSame-Period Risk Adjustment, Concurrent Risk Model

A risk adjustment method using diagnoses observed in the same period costs are predicted for, unlike prospective adjustment using prior period data.

Concurrent TherapyTermConcomitant Therapy, Simultaneous Treatment

Two or more treatments administered during the same overlapping time period, unlike treatments given in sequence one after another.

Condition IndexConceptCondition Indices, Collinearity Condition Index, Conditioning Index

A condition index is the ratio of the largest singular value of a scaled regression design matrix to another singular value, used to assess near-linear dependence among predictors.

Condition of ParticipationTermCoP, Participation Requirement

A specific health and safety standard a provider must meet to be eligible for reimbursement from a government health programme.

Condition PaymentTermCondition-Based Payment, Per-Condition Bundle

A payment arrangement in which a fixed amount covers a specific medical condition's treatment over a defined period, regardless of individual services required.

Condition-Specific MeasureTermDisease-Specific Measure, Condition-Specific Instrument

A health status instrument designed to capture outcomes relevant to a particular disease, unlike a generic instrument applicable across all conditions.

Conditional ApprovalTermEU Conditional Authorisation, Approval Under Conditions

An EU regulatory pathway granting market authorisation for an unmet need based on less comprehensive data, subject to further studies within a set timeframe.

Conditional CoverageTermProvisional Coverage, Managed Access Coverage, Coverage with Evidence Development

A decision to cover a new technology provisionally, subject to collecting further evidence confirming its value within a set timeframe.

Conditional LogicTermConditional Rules, If-Then Logic

The rules embedded within a decision-analytic model determining how a variable or pathway depends on the values of other variables or events.

Conditional ProbabilityConceptConditional Chance, Probability Given an Event

Conditional probability is the probability of an event within the restricted set of outcomes in which a specified conditioning event has occurred.

Conditional RecommendationTermDiscretionary Recommendation, Conditional GRADE Recommendation

Within frameworks such as GRADE, a recommendation indicating benefits probably outweigh harms but with less certainty, giving patient preferences a larger role.

Conditional ReimbursementTermOutcomes-Based Reimbursement, Provisional Reimbursement

A coverage arrangement in which a payer reimburses a treatment provisionally, subject to collecting further evidence confirming its value within a set timeframe.

Confidence EllipseTermJoint Confidence Region, CE-Plane Ellipse

A graphical region, typically on a cost-effectiveness plane, showing where the true joint value of incremental cost and effect is expected to fall.

Confidence IntervalConceptCI Statistics, Frequentist Interval

A confidence interval gives a range of parameter values that are compatible with the observed data under a specified statistical model and confidence procedure.

Confidence Interval EstimationConceptCI Calculation, Interval Estimate Construction

The statistical process of calculating a range of plausible values for an unknown parameter based on sample data and a specified confidence level.

Confidential DiscountTermPrivate Discount, Undisclosed Rebate

A price reduction negotiated privately between a manufacturer and payer, keeping a higher public list price while offering a lower net price.

Confidential PriceTermActual Net Price, Net Transaction Price

The actual net price paid for a treatment following a confidential discount, differing from and typically lower than the publicly disclosed list price.

Confidential PricingTermConfidential Discount Arrangement, Undisclosed Pricing

An arrangement keeping the actual negotiated price for a treatment private between manufacturer and payer, rather than publicly disclosed.

ConfidentialityTermInformation Privacy Duty, Patient Privacy Duty

The ethical and legal obligation to protect a patient's personal health information from unauthorised disclosure.

Confirmatory Factor AnalysisConceptCFA, Confirmatory Factor Modelling

Confirmatory factor analysis tests a prespecified measurement model in which observed variables are linked to hypothesised latent factors and the implied relationships are compared with data.

Confirmatory TrialTermPost-Approval Verification Trial, Confirmatory Study

A trial conducted after accelerated approval based on a surrogate endpoint, verifying the anticipated clinical benefit using a more definitive, patient-relevant outcome.

ConfounderTermConfounding Variable, Confounding Factor

A variable associated with both the exposure being studied and the outcome of interest, without being a step in the causal pathway between them.

ConfoundingTermConfounded Association, Third-Variable Bias

A distortion in the estimated association between an exposure and an outcome caused by a third variable related to both.

Confounding by AggregationTermAggregation Confounding, Group-Level Confounding

A form of confounding arising when data analysed at group level rather than individual level mixes within-group and between-group effects together.

Confounding by IndicationTermIndication Bias, Channelling Bias

Confounding in pharmacoepidemiology arising when the reason for prescribing a treatment is itself linked to a patient's underlying risk of the outcome studied.

Conjoint AnalysisConceptConjoint Study, Attribute Trade-Off Study

Conjoint analysis is a family of stated preference methods estimating how people value treatment or service attributes from ratings, rankings or choices.

Connected DeviceTermConnected Health Device, Networked Medical Device

A medical or health monitoring device with wireless connectivity, transmitting data to systems such as health records for remote monitoring.

Connected NetworkTermConnected Evidence Network, Linked Evidence Network

A set of trials that together link every treatment of interest to every other through a chain of direct comparisons.

Consensus BuildingTermConsensus Development, Stakeholder Agreement Process

A structured process of working toward broad stakeholder agreement, used to reach conclusions widely accepted as legitimate and well-reasoned.

Consent CapacityTermDecision-Making Capacity, Capacity to Consent

An individual's clinical ability to understand information, appreciate consequences, and communicate a choice, the foundational requirement for valid consent.

Consent for TreatmentTermTreatment Consent, Clinical Consent

The process by which a patient agrees to a proposed intervention after being given sufficient information to make an informed decision.

ConsequentialityTermPerceived Policy Influence, Response Consequence Belief

The extent to which respondents in a stated preference survey believe their answers could influence a real policy or funding outcome.

ConsistencyTermDirect-Indirect Agreement, Network Coherence

Within network meta-analysis, the property that direct and indirect evidence for the same treatment pair agree with one another.

Consistency AssessmentTermCross-Study Consistency Check, Homogeneity Assessment

An evaluation of whether an intervention's estimated effect is similar across the different studies contributing to a body of evidence.

Consolidated BillingTermBundled Facility Billing, Consolidated Claims

A billing requirement mandating certain post-acute facilities bill for most services a resident receives, including outside consultants, rather than separate billing.

Consolidation TherapyTermConsolidation Treatment, Post-Induction Therapy

A treatment given after successful induction therapy has reduced disease burden, intended to eliminate remaining disease and reduce relapse risk.

Constant HazardConceptTime-Invariant Hazard, Flat Hazard

A constant hazard is an assumption that the instantaneous rate of a specified event among those still at risk remains unchanged over a defined period.

Constant Sum AllocationTermFixed-Total Allocation, Points Distribution Method

A health state valuation method in which respondents distribute a fixed total, often one hundred points, across health states by relative desirability.

Constrained OptimisationConceptConstrained Optimization, Bounded Optimisation

Constrained optimisation identifies the best attainable value of an objective while requiring the decision variables to satisfy resource, policy, clinical or mathematical restrictions.

Construct ValidityConceptConstruct Soundness, Theoretical-Concept Validity

Construct validity is how well a health measure's scores fit hypotheses about what it measures, such as links to other measures or group differences.

Consumer AssessmentTermConsumer Survey, Patient Perspective Survey

A standardised survey methodology measuring patients' or consumers' perspectives on care received, covering communication quality and timeliness.

Consumer ChoiceConceptConsumer Selection, Consumer Decision-Making

Consumer choice is the economic theory of how people choose goods and services, including health care, to best satisfy their preferences within a budget.