Dictionary
The Dictionary provides concise definitions of health economics terms, arranged alphabetically for quick reference. Use it to understand unfamiliar terminology or confirm the meaning of a specific term.
N
- N-of-1 TrialConceptN-of-One Trial, Single-Patient Trial
- A trial conducted within a single participant, repeatedly alternating experimental treatment and control in random, blinded sequence to determine its individual effect.
- Named Patient ProgrammeTermNPP, Named-Patient Supply
- A pathway letting a physician request an unlicensed medicine for a specific, individually identified patient with unmet clinical need before formal approval.
- Narrative SynthesisTermNarrative Data Synthesis, Textual Synthesis
- An evidence synthesis summarising findings from multiple studies primarily through descriptive text, rather than formal statistical pooling.
- Narrow NetworkTermLimited Network, Restricted-Panel Network
- An insurance plan design including a limited number of contracted providers, offering less choice in exchange for typically lower premiums.
- Nash EquilibriumConceptStrategic Equilibrium
- A Nash equilibrium is a set of strategies, one per player, from which no player, such as a payer, provider or patient, gains by changing strategy alone.
- National Health InsuranceTermNHI, Statutory Health Insurance
- A financing model in which a single, government-administered programme covers an entire population, while care itself may still be delivered by mixed providers.
- National Health ServiceTermNHS, Tax-Funded Health System
- A health system financed primarily through general taxation and delivered through government-owned facilities and employed providers, exemplifying the Beveridge model.
- National HTA AgencyTermNational HTA Body, HTA Agency
- A government or government-mandated organisation conducting assessment to inform coverage, pricing, and reimbursement decisions within a country's health system.
- National Immunisation ScheduleTermNIS, Routine Immunisation Schedule
- The officially recommended sequence and timing of vaccinations for a country's population, developed by a national health authority based on disease burden.
- National PerspectiveTermCountry-Level Perspective, National-Level Perspective
- An analytic viewpoint considering costs and outcomes relevant to an entire country's health system, rather than a single institution, region, or payer.
- National Schedule of Reference CostsTermNSRC, Reference Cost Schedule
- A standardised set of unit costs for healthcare services, published to enable consistent costing across an entire health system.
- NationalizationTermNationalisation, State Takeover
- The transfer of ownership of an industry or set of assets, such as hospitals, from private to government control.
- Natural History StructureTermNatural History Model, Disease Course Model
- The representation within a model of how a disease progresses over time without intervention, including the timing of key clinical milestones.
- Natural History StudyTermUntreated Disease Study, Disease Course Study
- A study observing a disease's course over time without an experimental treatment, providing baseline information used as an external comparator, particularly for rare diseases.
- Natural Language Processing HealthTermNLP in Health, Clinical Text Mining
- An artificial intelligence category enabling computers to understand human language, applied to extracting clinically relevant information from unstructured medical text.
- NCD Risk Factor PrevalenceTermNCD Risk Prevalence, Chronic Risk Factor Rate
- A measure of the proportion of a population exhibiting a specific modifiable risk factor for noncommunicable disease, such as tobacco use.
- NCPETermNational Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, Irish HTA Agency
- The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics, Ireland's body conducting pharmaceutical assessment to inform national reimbursement decisions.
- NDA SubmissionTermNDA Filing, New Drug Application
- A New Drug Application submitted to the US FDA seeking approval to market a new small-molecule drug, detailing safety, efficacy, and manufacturing.
- Near MissTermClose Call, Averted Incident
- An event with the potential to cause patient harm that did not actually result in injury, through intervention or chance.
- Near Miss InvestigationTermClose-Call Investigation, Near-Miss Analysis
- An inquiry following an event that could have caused harm but did not, intended to address system vulnerabilities before actual harm occurs.
- Near Miss RateConceptClose-Call Rate, Near-Miss Frequency
- A near miss rate is the number of events meeting a specified near-miss definition relative to a matching population or set of opportunities during a stated period, expressed on an explicit scale.
- Near Miss ReportingTermClose-Call Reporting, Near-Miss Notification
- The systematic documentation of events with potential to cause harm that did not result in injury, revealing system vulnerabilities early.
- Negative BinomialConceptNB Distribution, Overdispersed Count Model
- A discrete probability distribution modelling count data with more variability than a Poisson distribution would predict, known as overdispersion.
- Negative Binomial RegressionConceptNB Regression, Overdispersed Count Regression
- A modelling technique analysing count outcome data, such as hospitalisations, that shows overdispersion relative to what a Poisson model would assume.
- Negative ExternalityConceptExternal Cost, Negative Spillover
- A cost imposed on a third party by an economic activity, not reflected in its market price, leading to overproduction relative to the social optimum.
- Negative FeedbackTermBalancing Loop, Self-Correcting Loop
- A causal relationship in which a change in one variable triggers effects that counteract or dampen the original change, stabilising the system.
- Negative Likelihood RatioConceptLR-, Negative LR
- A diagnostic test measure expressing how much a negative result changes the odds a patient does not have the condition tested for.
- Negative ListTermDelisted Formulary, Non-Reimbursed List
- A list of medications or services explicitly excluded from reimbursement coverage, unlike a positive list specifying what is covered.
- Negative Predictive ValueConceptNPV Diagnostic, True-Negative Share
- The probability that an individual with a negative diagnostic test result truly does not have the condition being tested for.
- Negative RecommendationTermDo-Not-Reimburse Recommendation, Rejection
- A body's formal decision not to recommend a technology for funding, based on unacceptable cost-effectiveness at the reviewed price.
- Neglected Disease EconomicsTermNTD Economics, Neglected Tropical Disease Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to diseases disproportionately affecting low-income populations with historically limited research and development investment.
- Negotiated PricingTermPrice Negotiation Outcome, Negotiated Drug Price
- A treatment price established through direct discussion between a manufacturer and payer, unlike a price set unilaterally or by government formula.
- Negotiated RateTermIn-Network Rate, Negotiated Provider Rate
- A payment amount established through direct negotiation between provider and payer, unlike a rate set unilaterally through a fee schedule.
- Nelder-Mead MethodConceptDownhill Simplex Method, Amoeba Method
- A numerical optimisation algorithm searching for a function's minimum using a moving shape, called a simplex, without needing the function's derivative.
- Nelson-Aalen EstimatorConceptNelson-Aalen, Cumulative Hazard Estimator
- A non-parametric method for estimating the cumulative hazard function from censored data, closely related to the Kaplan-Meier estimator.
- Neoadjuvant TherapyTermNeoadjuvant Treatment, Pre-Surgical Therapy
- Treatment given before a primary treatment, most commonly surgery, intended to shrink a tumour and make subsequent treatment more effective or less extensive.
- Neonatal EconomicsTermNewborn Economics, NICU Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to newborn care, particularly infants requiring specialist care for prematurity or congenital conditions.
- Nephrology EconomicsTermRenal Economics, Kidney Care Economics, Renal Disease Economics
- The broad application of health economic evaluation to kidney-related conditions, spanning chronic kidney disease, dialysis, and kidney transplantation.
- NephrotoxicityTermRenal Toxicity, Kidney Toxicity
- An adverse effect in which a drug or treatment damages the kidneys, potentially impairing their normal filtering function.
- Nested LoopTermTwo-Level Simulation, Nested Monte Carlo
- A simulation structure in which one inner simulation runs repeatedly within each iteration of an outer simulation, used to separate sources of uncertainty.
- Net BenefitConceptNB
- Net benefit places health gains and costs on one scale by valuing health at a cost-effectiveness threshold, or directly in money, and subtracting costs.
- Net Benefit ApproachConceptNB Framework
- The net benefit approach is a cost-effectiveness decision framework that ranks options by net benefit at a stated threshold instead of by ratios.
- Net Budget ImpactTermNet BIA Result, Incremental Budget Impact
- The overall change in spending from adopting a new technology, after accounting for offsetting savings elsewhere, such as avoided hospital admissions.
- Net Health BenefitConceptNHB, Incremental Health Benefit
- Net health benefit (NHB) is the health an option gains, in QALYs, minus the QALYs its extra cost would buy elsewhere at the cost-effectiveness threshold.
- Net MarginTermNet Profit Ratio, Bottom-Line Margin
- A financial ratio calculated as net income divided by total revenue, showing the proportion of revenue remaining as profit.
- Net Monetary BenefitConceptNMB, Money-Valued Benefit
- Net monetary benefit (NMB) is an option's health outcome valued in money at a cost-effectiveness threshold minus its cost, used to rank healthcare options.
- Net Present ValueConceptNPV, Discounted Net Value
- Net present value is the sum of monetary net flows at different times after each has been discounted to a common valuation date, including the initial flow.
- Net PriceTermPost-Rebate Price, Discounted Transaction Price
- The actual price a manufacturer realises for a treatment after all rebates and discounts, distinct from its publicly listed gross price.
- Net Promoter ScoreTermNPS, Patient Recommendation Score
- A customer loyalty metric based on likelihood to recommend, adapted in healthcare to measure patient satisfaction and provider recommendation likelihood.
- Net Survival ModelConceptNet Survival Estimation, Population-Cause Survival Model
- A survival model estimating the survival a population would experience if the disease studied were the only possible cause of death.