Dictionary

P

Policy RevisionTermPolicy Amendment, Policy Update

A modification to an existing health policy to address shortcomings, incorporate new evidence, or adapt to changed circumstances.

Policy TerminationTermPolicy Cessation, Policy Wind-Down

The formal discontinuation of an existing policy or programme, typically when judged ineffective, unnecessary, or superseded by an alternative.

Polio EconomicsTermPoliomyelitis Economics, Polio Cost of Illness

The application of health economic evaluation to poliomyelitis, a paralysis-causing viral disease targeted for global eradication through sustained vaccination.

Political FeasibilityTermPolitical Viability, Political Acceptability

An assessment of whether a policy is likely to garner sufficient political support to be adopted, given stakeholder interests and public opinion.

POLSTTermPhysician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, Portable Medical Order

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, a standardised medical order documenting a seriously ill patient's resuscitation and treatment preferences.

PolypharmacyTermMultiple Medication Use, Concurrent Medication Burden

The concurrent use of multiple medications by a patient, most commonly defined as five or more regularly used medications, though definitions vary.

PoolingTermPrepaid Fund Accumulation, Shared Fund

The accumulation and management of prepaid healthcare funds into a shared fund used to pay for services for a covered population.

Pooling EquilibriumTermPooling Outcome, Mixed-Type Equilibrium

A market outcome in which different risk types make the same choice, so a firm cannot distinguish between them from behaviour alone.

PopulationConcept

Population, in health economic evaluation, is the group of people a decision or analysis concerns, defined by condition, characteristics and care pathway.

Population AnalyticsTermPopulation Health Analytics, Cohort Analytics

The application of data analysis to understand health patterns and needs across an entire defined patient population, supporting risk stratification.

Population Attributable FractionConceptPAF, Population Aetiologic Fraction

The proportion of disease cases in an entire population that would not occur if a specific exposure were eliminated, accounting for its prevalence.

Population Attributable RiskTermPAR, Population Excess Risk

The reduction in disease incidence within a population that would result from eliminating a harmful exposure entirely, expressed as an absolute rate.

Population CoverageTermPopulation Entitlement, Entitled Population Share

The proportion of a defined population covered by a health financing or insurance scheme, one dimension of universal health coverage progress.

Population EVPIConceptAggregate EVPI, Whole-Jurisdiction EVPI

The expected value of perfect information calculated for an entire affected patient population over time, rather than for a single patient.

Population HealthTermCommunity Health Status, Group Health Outcomes

The health outcomes of a group of individuals, including their distribution, encompassing healthcare delivery and broader social and environmental determinants.

Population Health ManagementTermPHM, Managed Population Health

An approach focusing on improving outcomes for an entire defined patient population, incorporating proactive outreach, risk stratification, and coordinated care.

Population StructureTermCohort Composition, Modelled Demographic Mix

The way a decision-analytic model represents the composition of the patient population studied, including relevant subgroups by age or severity.

Population-Based PaymentTermPopulation Payment Model, Per-Capita Provider Payment, Population Payment

A methodology reimbursing a provider based on the overall health needs and outcomes of a defined population, rather than individual services delivered.

Population-Level ModelTermAggregate-Level Model, Whole-Population Model

A decision-analytic model representing outcomes for an entire population rather than individual patients, often used to capture transmission or budget effects.

Portability DesignTermCoverage Transferability, Plan Portability Rules

Features built into an insurance product or account letting coverage or accumulated funds remain with an individual across employer or plan changes.

Positive ExternalityConceptBeneficial Spillover, External Benefit

A benefit conferred on a third party by an economic activity, not reflected in its market price, leading to underproduction relative to the social optimum.

Positive FeedbackTermReinforcing Loop, Amplifying Feedback

A causal relationship in which a change in one variable triggers effects that reinforce the original change, tending to accelerate the system's trajectory.

Positive Likelihood RatioConceptLR+, Positive LR

A diagnostic test measure expressing how much a positive result increases the odds that a patient truly has the condition tested for.

Positive ListTermReimbursement List, Inclusion List

A list explicitly specifying which medications or services are covered under a health plan, unlike a negative list specifying exclusions.

Positive Predictive ValueConceptPPV, True-Positive Share

The probability that an individual with a positive diagnostic test result truly has the condition being tested for.

Positive RecommendationTermFavourable Recommendation, Recommend-For Decision

A body's formal decision to recommend a technology for funding, based on acceptable cost-effectiveness at the reviewed price.

Post-Acute CareTermPAC, Sub-Acute Care

Healthcare services provided after an acute hospitalisation to support continued recovery, spanning skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and home health settings.

Post-Hoc AnalysisTermPost-Hoc Testing, Unplanned Analysis

A statistical analysis conducted after a trial's data have already been examined, often exploring a hypothesis or subgroup not prespecified.

Post-Market MonitoringTermPost-Launch Monitoring, Ongoing Market Watch

The ongoing surveillance of a technology's safety and effectiveness after regulatory approval, capturing information beyond pre-approval trial data.

Post-Marketing CommitmentTermPMC, Voluntary Post-Approval Study

A study a manufacturer voluntarily agrees to conduct after approval, unlike a formally mandated post-marketing requirement, characterising real-world safety or effectiveness.

Post-Marketing RequirementTermPMR, Mandated Post-Approval Study

A study regulators formally mandate a manufacturer conduct after approval, often as a condition of accelerated approval granted on a surrogate endpoint.

Post-Marketing SurveillanceTermPhase IV Surveillance, Post-Approval Monitoring

The ongoing monitoring of a drug's safety and effectiveness after regulatory approval, capturing information not always evident from pre-approval trials.

Post-Test ProbabilityConceptPost-Test Risk, Updated Diagnostic Probability

The updated probability that a patient has a condition after a diagnostic test result is known, combining pre-test probability with the likelihood ratio.

Posterior DistributionConceptPosterior, Updated Distribution

In Bayesian statistics, the updated probability distribution for a parameter after combining a prior distribution with the likelihood of observed data.

Posterior OddsTermUpdated Odds, Post-Data Odds

The updated odds that a hypothesis is true after incorporating new evidence, found by multiplying prior odds by the likelihood ratio.

Posterior ProbabilityTermPosterior Belief, Updated Probability

The updated probability of a hypothesis after accounting for observed evidence, combining a prior probability with the likelihood of that evidence.

Potential Life YearsTermPYLL, Life-Years Foregone

A measure of premature mortality calculated as the years of life lost when death occurs before a specified reference age, such as seventy.

Potentially Inappropriate MedicationTermPIM, Inappropriate Prescribing Flag

A medication generally considered to pose an unfavourable risk-benefit balance for a specific population, most commonly older adults, per expert criteria.

Potentially Preventable EventTermPPE, Avoidable Adverse Event

An adverse outcome, such as a readmission, that could plausibly have been avoided through appropriate care, unlike a disease's natural progression.

PovertyTermEconomic Deprivation, Material Hardship

A state of lacking the material resources needed to meet basic needs, measured against an income or consumption threshold and strongly associated with worse health.

Poverty LineTermPoverty Threshold, Income Cut-Off

In health economics, the income or consumption threshold below which a person or household is classified as living in poverty, used in equity and targeting analysis.

Power of AttorneyTermHealth Decision Proxy, Welfare Attorney

A legal document granting one individual authority to act on another's behalf, in healthcare typically to make medical decisions if incapacitated.

Practice ChangeTermCare Delivery Change, Clinical Behaviour Shift

A modification to established clinical or organisational routines, typically undertaken to align practice with current evidence-based recommendations.

Practice Expense RVUTermPE RVU, Overhead Relative Value Unit

A US Medicare relative value component reflecting the overhead costs of operating a practice, such as staff and office space, attributable to a service.

Practice GuidelinesTermClinical Guidance Document, Care Standards Document

Formal, evidence-based recommendations developed by an expert panel to guide clinical decision-making for a specific condition, promoting consistent care.

Practice SettingsTermCare Settings, Clinical Settings

The range of distinct physical and organisational environments in which a healthcare profession's members deliver services, such as community or hospital settings.

Practice Style VariationTermPhysician Practice Style, Provider Style Difference

Differences in clinical decision-making and treatment intensity across physicians or regions treating clinically similar patients, unexplained by need or preference.

Pragmatic TrialTermReal-World Trial, Effectiveness Trial

A trial designed to evaluate a treatment under conditions resembling routine clinical practice, using broad eligibility and outcomes relevant to real-world decisions.

Pragmatic Trial DesignTermPRECIS-Guided Design, Pragmatic Study Protocol

A trial design evaluating a treatment under conditions resembling routine practice, using broad eligibility and standard care settings, unlike an explanatory design.

Pre-Commitment InterventionTermUlysses Contract, Self-Binding Device

A mechanism allowing a person to voluntarily restrict future choices in advance to support a desired long-term behaviour.