Dictionary

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Home Care EconomicsTermDomiciliary Care Economics, Home Health Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to healthcare and support delivered in a patient's own home rather than a hospital or care home.

Home DischargeTermDischarge to Home, Home Disposition

A hospital discharge in which a patient returns directly home, rather than transitioning to another institutional care setting.

Home HealthTermSkilled Home Care, Home Nursing

Skilled clinical services, such as nursing care and physical therapy, delivered to a patient within their own home.

Horizon ScanningTermTechnology Watch, Emerging-Tech Surveillance

A systematic process identifying, tracking, and prioritising emerging technologies likely to significantly affect a health system, before market entry.

Horizon StructureTermModel Time Design, Cycle-Horizon Layout

The way a decision-analytic model organises the passage of time, including cycle length in a Markov model or key evaluation points.

Horizontal EquityConceptEqual Treatment for Equal Need, Like-for-Like Equity

Horizontal equity is equal treatment of equals in health care: equal care for people in equal need and equal payments from those with equal ability to pay.

Horizontal InequityTermUnequal Treatment for Equal Need, Equity Violation

A violation of the principle that individuals with equal healthcare need should receive equal treatment, regardless of income or other irrelevant characteristics.

Horizontally IntegratedTermHorizontal Integration, Same-Level Integration

A structure in which multiple organisations providing the same service type, such as several hospitals, combine under common ownership.

Hormone TherapyTermHormonal Therapy, Endocrine Therapy

A treatment approach using hormones or hormone-blocking agents, such as hormone replacement for menopause or hormone-blocking therapy for hormone-sensitive cancers.

Hosmer-Lemeshow TestConceptH-L Test, Hosmer-Lemeshow Statistic

A goodness of fit test assessing how well a logistic regression model's predicted probabilities match observed outcome frequencies across risk groups.

Hospice CareTermTerminal Care, Hospice Service

A specialised model providing comfort-focused, interdisciplinary support for patients with terminal illness and limited life expectancy, and their families.

Hospice DischargeTermHospice Disenrollment, End of Hospice

The conclusion of a patient's hospice enrolment, whether from death, improved condition no longer meeting eligibility, or the patient's own choice.

Hospice EconomicsTermHospice Care Economics, Terminal Care Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to palliative, comfort-focused hospice services for patients with terminal illness and limited life expectancy.

Hospital AdmissionsTermInpatient Intake Count, Hospital Intake Volume

The total number of patients formally accepted for inpatient care within a facility over a defined period, a key utilisation measure.

Hospital Care CoverageTermInpatient Coverage, Hospital Service Coverage

A measure of the extent to which a population has timely access to needed inpatient hospital services.

Hospital CompareTermCMS Compare Site, Public Hospital Ratings

A publicly available US government website providing standardised hospital quality and experience information to support consumer choice.

Hospital HTA UnitTermHospital-Based HTA, Mini-HTA Unit

A functional unit within an individual hospital conducting localised, often simplified assessments for institution-specific decisions such as adopting new equipment.

Hospital-Acquired ConditionTermHAC, Hospital-Acquired Complication

A condition or complication a patient acquires during a hospital stay not present on admission, considered reasonably preventable through evidence-based practices.

Hospital-Acquired InfectionTermIn-Hospital Infection, Hospital Infection

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

Hospitalization CostTermInpatient Cost, Admission Cost

The total expense of an inpatient hospital stay, covering room and board, nursing care, procedures, and medications during the admission.

HotlineTermReporting Line, Confidential Reporting Channel

A confidential reporting channel established by an organisation to let employees report suspected compliance violations or unethical conduct.

HPV EconomicsTermHuman Papillomavirus Economics, HPV Vaccine Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to human papillomavirus infection and its associated cancers, covering vaccination and cervical screening strategies.

HTA Acceptability CriterionTermAcceptability Standard, Reasonableness Criterion

A standard used within a health technology assessment to judge whether an intervention or its evidence is reasonable and appropriate.

HTA CollaborationTermHTA Cooperation, Joint HTA

A formal or informal partnership between multiple assessment organisations sharing information and reducing duplication across countries or regions.

HTA Core ModelTermCore Model, EUnetHTA Core Model

A standardised framework structuring how assessment information is produced and shared across countries, reducing duplication and improving consistency.

HTA ProcessTermAssessment Process, HTA Workflow

The overall sequence of steps a body follows, from scoping and submission through technical review to a final recommendation.

HTA ReportTermAssessment Report, HTA Document

The formal written document produced at an assessment's conclusion, presenting the evidence, methods, and conclusions reached on a technology.

HTA ScopeTermAssessment Scope, Scope Definition

The formally defined boundaries of an assessment, specifying the technology, population, comparators, and outcomes to be considered.

HTAiTermHealth Technology Assessment International, HTA Society

Health Technology Assessment International, a global professional society bringing together researchers and policymakers working in the field.

Hub And Spoke ModelTermHub-and-Spoke Network, Centralised Care Network

A network structure where a central, highly specialist hub coordinates with dispersed spoke facilities providing basic care and referring complex cases.

HUITermHealth Utilities Index

An abbreviation for the Health Utilities Index, a family of generic, multi-attribute health status classification systems producing a single utility value.

HUI2TermHealth Utilities Index Mark 2, HUI Mark II

The second version of the Health Utilities Index, measuring health across dimensions including sensation, mobility, emotion, cognition, and fertility.

HUI3TermHealth Utilities Index Mark 3, HUI Mark III

The third version of the Health Utilities Index, measuring eight dimensions including vision, hearing, dexterity, and pain, replacing HUI2's fertility dimension.

Human Capital ApproachConceptHuman Capital Valuation, Wage-Based Productivity Valuation, Human Capital Method

A way to value productivity lost to illness or premature death by applying an economic value, often based on earnings, to forgone productive time.

Human Subjects ProtectionTermHuman Participant Protection, Research Participant Protection

The comprehensive set of ethical principles and oversight mechanisms designed to safeguard the rights, safety, and wellbeing of research participants.

Hybrid ModelTermHybrid Decision Model, Combined Model

A decision-analytic model combining two or more approaches, such as a decision tree feeding into a Markov model, to represent a disease process.

Hyperbolic DiscountingConceptPresent-Biased Discounting, Hyperbolic Time Preference

Hyperbolic discounting is time preference in which the discount rate falls as delay grows, so plans made for later are often reversed when the time comes.

Hyperglycemia EconomicsTermEconomics of Hyperglycaemia, High Blood Glucose Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to elevated blood glucose and its management, from acute episodes to chronic poorly controlled diabetes.

Hyperlipidemia EconomicsTermEconomics of Hyperlipidaemia, High Cholesterol Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to elevated blood lipid levels, assessing lipid-lowering medication cost against long-term cardiovascular benefit.

Hypertension Control RateTermBP Control Rate, Blood Pressure Control Rate

A measure of the proportion of diagnosed hypertension patients achieving recommended blood pressure control targets, an indicator of programme effectiveness.

Hypertension EconomicsTermEconomics of Hypertension, High Blood Pressure Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to high blood pressure, comparing medication classes and combinations for cost-effectiveness in cutting cardiovascular events.

Hypertension ManagementTermBP Management, Blood Pressure Management

The clinical process of diagnosing, treating, and monitoring high blood pressure, combining lifestyle change and drug therapy tailored to cardiovascular risk.

Hypoglycemia EconomicsTermEconomics of Hypoglycaemia, Low Blood Glucose Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to episodes of abnormally low blood glucose, a risk particularly associated with insulin therapy.

Hypothesis TestingConceptSignificance Testing, Null-Hypothesis Test

Hypothesis testing is a statistical decision framework that evaluates how compatible observed data are with a prespecified null hypothesis by comparing a test statistic with its sampling distribution under stated assumptions.

Hypothetical BiasTermStated-Preference Bias, WTP Overstatement

The tendency for willingness-to-pay values stated in a hypothetical survey to overstate what respondents would actually pay in a real transaction.