Dictionary

H

Healthcare Resource GroupTermHRG, NHS Casemix Group

A patient classification system used within the NHS grouping clinically similar treatments expected to use similar resources, analogous to diagnosis related groups elsewhere.

Healthcare Sector PerspectiveTermHealth Sector Perspective, Health Care Sector Viewpoint, Health Care System Perspective

An analytic viewpoint including costs and outcomes across the healthcare system broadly, but still excluding costs falling entirely outside the health sector.

Healthcare System CostTermSystem-Wide Cost, Total System Cost

The total expense incurred across an entire healthcare system providing care, covering all payers and providers, unlike a single payer's narrower perspective.

Healthcare-Associated InfectionTermHAI, Nosocomial Infection

An infection a patient develops during care in a healthcare facility, not present or incubating at admission, largely preventable.

Healthy Life ExpectancyConceptHLE, Disability-Adjusted Life Expectancy

A population health measure expressing the average years an individual is expected to live in good health, adjusting for time in disability.

Healthy Life YearsTermHLY, Years in Good Health

A summary population health measure expressing the number of years an individual is expected to live in good health.

Healthy Year EquivalentConceptHYE, Lifetime Health Equivalent

An alternative to the QALY deriving its valuations directly from a sequence of health states over a lifetime, rather than combining separate utility values.

Hearing Care CoverageTermHearing Service Coverage, Audiology Coverage

A measure of the extent to which a population has access to needed hearing loss diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation services.

Hearing Care EconomicsTermAudiology Economics, Hearing Loss Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to hearing loss diagnosis and rehabilitation, including hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Heart FailureTermCardiac Failure, CHF

A chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump blood effectively enough to meet the body's needs, causing frequent hospitalisation and reduced life expectancy.

Heart Failure EconomicsTermHF Economics, Cardiac Failure Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to heart failure diagnosis, medication, device therapy, and rehabilitation, emphasising reduced hospital readmission.

Heart Transplant EconomicsTermCardiac Transplant Economics, Heart Graft Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to heart transplantation, weighing procedure and lifelong immunosuppression costs against survival benefit for end-stage failure.

Hedges' GConceptCorrected Standardised Mean Difference, Bias-Corrected Effect Size

A standardised effect size measure similar to Cohen's d but corrected for small sample size bias.

Helminth EconomicsTermWorm Infection Economics, Helminthiasis Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to parasitic worm infections, a significant public health burden in many low- and middle-income countries.

Hemophilia EconomicsTermHaemophilia Economics, Clotting Disorder Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to haemophilia, comparing conventional factor replacement against newer, longer-acting formulations and gene therapy.

Hemorrhagic Stroke EconomicsTermHaemorrhagic Stroke Economics, Brain Bleed Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to strokes caused by brain bleeding, unlike the more common blocked-flow ischaemic stroke.

Hepatic ResponseTermLiver Response, Hepatic Outcome

A biomarker-based outcome measure indicating a change in liver function or structure, such as normalised liver enzymes, following treatment.

Hepatitis B EconomicsTermHBV Economics, Hep B Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to hepatitis B, a viral infection that can cause chronic liver disease if not controlled.

Hepatitis C EconomicsTermHCV Economics, Hep C Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to hepatitis C, evolving substantially as curative antiviral treatment costs have declined and eligible populations expanded.

Hepatitis EconomicsTermLiver Inflammation Economics, Viral Liver Disease Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to viral and non-viral liver inflammation, covering screening, antiviral treatment, and long-term liver damage management.

Hepatology EconomicsTermLiver Economics, Hepatobiliary Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to the broader field of liver disease, covering viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.

HepatotoxicityTermLiver Toxicity, Drug-Induced Liver Injury

An adverse effect in which a drug or treatment damages the liver, ranging from mild, reversible enzyme changes to severe liver failure.

Herd EffectTermIndirect Protection, Community Protection

The indirect protection conferred on unvaccinated or susceptible individuals when enough others in a population are immune, reducing pathogen circulation overall.

Herd ImmunityTermPopulation Immunity, Community Immunity

A state where a sufficiently high proportion of a population is immune to a disease that transmission is substantially reduced even among the susceptible.

Herd Immunity ThresholdTermCritical Immunity Threshold, HIT

The proportion of a population that must be immune to achieve herd immunity, mathematically related to a pathogen's basic reproduction number.

Hernia EconomicsTermHernia Repair Economics, Herniorrhaphy Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to hernia repair, comparing open versus laparoscopic surgery and different mesh material choices.

Herpes EconomicsTermHSV Economics, Herpesvirus Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to herpes virus infections, covering herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster related conditions such as shingles.

Heterogeneity AnalysisTermSubgroup Variation Study, Effect Heterogeneity Study

An examination of how a model's results vary across different patient subgroups, unlike parameter uncertainty concerning imprecision in a single average population value.

Heterogeneity AssessmentConceptHeterogeneity Testing, I-Squared Assessment

Heterogeneity assessment evaluates the nature, extent, and possible causes of differences in effects or outcomes across studies, populations, or settings.

Heterogeneous Treatment EffectConceptHTE, Treatment Effect Variation

Variation in the size or direction of a treatment's effect across individuals or subgroups, so the overall average may not fit any one patient.

Heuristics ConceptTermHeuristic, Mental Shortcut

A mental shortcut that simplifies complex decision-making by substituting a simple rule of thumb for exhaustive analysis.

Hidden Markov ModelConceptHMM, Latent Markov Model

A statistical model in which the true underlying state cannot be directly observed, only indicated indirectly and probabilistically by observable data.

Hierarchical Condition CategoryConceptHCC, Condition Category Model

A US Medicare Advantage risk classification system grouping diagnosis codes into hierarchical, clinically related categories to predict future healthcare costs.

Hierarchical ModelConceptMultilevel Model, Nested Model

A hierarchical model represents observations or parameters at multiple related levels and estimates variation within and between those levels.

Hierarchical TestingConceptFixed-Sequence Testing, Sequential Test Procedure

A multiple testing strategy organising hypotheses into a prespecified sequence, so later tests are only conducted if earlier, higher-priority tests succeed.

High Deductible Health PlanTermHDHP, High-Deductible Plan

A plan with a deductible above a regulatory minimum threshold, giving lower premiums but requiring a larger upfront share of routine costs.

High Performer IdentificationTermHigh-Performer Detection, Top-Performer Identification

The process of systematically identifying providers who consistently achieve superior performance on quality or efficiency metrics, to understand and disseminate their practices.

High Reliability OrganizationTermHRO, High-Reliability Healthcare Organisation

An organisation operating in a high-risk environment that consistently achieves exceptionally low serious failure rates through specific cultural characteristics.

High-Income CountryTermHIC, High-Income Economy

A country classified by gross national income per capita as falling within the highest tier of an international income classification system.

High-Quality EvidenceTermHigh Certainty Evidence, GRADE High

Within GRADE, a rating indicating strong confidence that the true effect lies close to the reported estimate, typically from well-conducted trials.

High-Value CareTermHigh-Value Healthcare, Cost-Effective Care

Healthcare providing substantial benefit relative to its cost and potential harms, the outcome quality improvement and cost-effectiveness aim to promote.

Highly Specialized TechnologyTermHST, Highly Specialised Technology Pathway

A distinct evaluation pathway for treatments addressing very rare conditions, applying different evidentiary and cost-effectiveness standards than common conditions.

HIPAATermHealth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, US Health Privacy Law

US federal legislation establishing national standards for protecting the privacy and security of individually identifiable health information.

HIQATermHealth Information and Quality Authority, Irish HTA Body

The Health Information and Quality Authority, Ireland's independent statutory body driving high-quality, safe healthcare, encompassing assessment and quality oversight.

HistogramTermFrequency Distribution Chart, Binned Frequency Plot

A graphical display representing the distribution of numerical data by dividing it into intervals and showing observation frequency within each.

Historical Drug KnowledgeTermHistory of Materia Medica, Traditional Drug Knowledge

The accumulated body of knowledge on medicinal substances, their sources, preparation, and applications, as it existed before modern pharmacology.

Hit IdentificationTermHit Discovery, Hit Finding

An early drug discovery stage identifying initial candidate compounds, called hits, showing biological activity against a target, typically via large-scale screening.

HIV EconomicsTermHIV/AIDS Economics, AIDS Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to HIV infection, covering prevention, testing, and lifelong antiretroviral treatment.

HL7TermHealth Level Seven, Health Data Standard Body

An international organisation developing standards for electronic exchange of health information, underlying much of healthcare interoperability infrastructure.

Home CareTermHome Healthcare, Domiciliary Care

Healthcare and support services delivered to a patient within their own home, rather than a hospital or residential facility.