Dictionary

O

Outlier PaymentTermHigh-Cost Case Payment, Outlier Adjustment

A supplemental payment made in addition to standard prospective payment for a case whose actual cost or stay substantially exceeds expectations.

Outpatient CostTermAmbulatory Cost, Outpatient Care Cost

The expense of healthcare services delivered without an overnight hospital stay, such as clinic visits, diagnostic testing, and same-day procedures.

Outpatient ManagementTermAmbulatory Management, Outpatient Care Management

The clinical and administrative processes coordinating and delivering care to patients treated without hospital admission, covering scheduling and follow-up.

Outpatient SurgeryTermAmbulatory Surgery, Same-Day Surgery

A surgical procedure performed without formal hospital admission, typically allowing the patient to return home the same day.

Outpatient VisitsTermAmbulatory Visits, Clinic Visits

The total number of patient encounters at a facility without formal hospital admission over a defined period, an ambulatory utilisation measure.

Output InterfaceTermResults Interface, Model Results Panel

The component of a health economic model that presents its results, such as cost-effectiveness ratios, in a format accessible to users.

Output MaximisationTermOutput Maximization, Output-Oriented Efficiency

An objective in production theory of achieving the greatest possible output from a given set of inputs.

Output-Based FinancingTermOutput-Linked Financing, Volume-Based Financing

A financing approach tying payments to providers or programmes to the volume or type of services delivered, rather than a fixed budget.

Overall Hospital RatingTermHospital Star Rating, Summary Hospital Score

A summary star rating assigned to a hospital based on aggregate performance across multiple quality and experience measures.

Overall SurvivalConceptOS, Total Survival

Overall survival is the time from a prespecified origin, such as randomization, diagnosis, or treatment initiation, until death from any cause, with participants not known to have died censored at their last date known alive.

OverconfidenceTermOver-Precision, Excessive Certainty

A cognitive bias in which individuals, including expert forecasters, express excessive certainty, producing judgements narrower than their actual accuracy would justify.

OverfittingConceptOver-Fitting, Model Overfit

A situation in which a model is fit too closely to the noise in its training data, performing poorly on new, independent data.

Overhead CostTermIndirect Overhead, Overhead Expense

A cost that supports an organisation's overall operations but cannot be directly attributed to a specific service or department, such as administration.

Override RateTermAlert Override Frequency, Alert Dismissal Rate

The proportion of computerised clinical alerts a provider dismisses without following the recommended action, a key metric for alert calibration.

OverutilizationTermExcess Utilisation, Service Overprovision, Overuse

The use of healthcare services beyond what is clinically necessary or beneficial, an inefficient use of health system resources.