Dictionary

R

Residual AnalysisTermResidual Diagnostics, Residual Plot Review

A statistical technique examining the differences between a model's predicted values and observed data, checking for systematic patterns left unexplained.

ResourceConcept

Resource, in health economics, means any scarce input such as staff time, medicines, beds or equipment, whose use in one place denies it to other uses.

Resource AllocationTermResource Distribution, Resource Apportionment

The process of distributing limited health system resources across competing uses to maximise health outcomes or other policy objectives.

Resource ConstraintTermResource Limit, Supply Constraint

A limit on the total resources, such as budget, staff, or facilities, available to an organisation, within which competing demands must be prioritised.

Resource DefinitionTermResource Specification, Resource Categorisation

The specification within a discrete event simulation of the limited assets, such as staff or beds, that entities need to be processed.

Resource IdentificationTermResource Enumeration, Cost Item Identification

The process of determining which categories of resource use, such as staff time and supplies, are relevant when costing an intervention.

Resource IntensityTermCare Intensity, Resource Density

A measure of the volume and type of resources required to provide care for a specific patient or clinical case category.

Resource ManagementTermResource Stewardship, Asset Management

The processes an organisation uses to plan, allocate, and monitor available resources, including staff and equipment, to achieve its objectives.

Resource MeasurementTermResource Quantification, Utilisation Measurement

The process of quantifying the physical amount of a resource consumed in delivering a health intervention, such as staff hours or bed-days.

Resource ReallocationTermResource Shifting, Fund Redeployment

The process of shifting resources from lower-value to higher-value uses, informed by comparative cost-effectiveness evidence, the core of priority setting.

Resource UseTermResource Consumption, Service Use Volume

The physical quantities of inputs, such as staff time, equipment, and supplies, consumed in delivering a healthcare intervention.

Resource UtilisationTermResource Uptake, Capacity Use Rate

The pattern and extent to which available healthcare resources, such as staff and beds, are actually used to deliver care.

Resource ValuationTermInput Valuation, Resource Pricing

The process of assigning a monetary value to a measured quantity of resource use, typically by multiplying it by a unit cost.

Resource-Based Relative ValueConceptRBRVS, Resource-Based Payment Scale

A methodology determining physician reimbursement based on a standardised measure of resources required, incorporating work, practice expense, and malpractice risk.

Resource-Based ValueTermResource-Cost Value, Input-Based Value

A payment concept tying reimbursement to actual resources, such as time and skill, required for a service, rather than historical charges.

Respiratory Disease BurdenTermLung Disease Burden, Respiratory Morbidity Burden

The total impact of respiratory diseases on a population, covering mortality, morbidity, and healthcare costs, commonly quantified using disability-adjusted life years.

Respiratory Disease EconomicsTermLung Disease Economics, Pulmonary Economics

The broad application of health economic evaluation to respiratory system conditions, spanning asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and respiratory infections.

Respite CareTermCarer Relief Care, Short-Break Care

Temporary care services giving a primary carer a planned break from ongoing caregiving responsibilities, delivered at home or in a residential setting.

Responder AnalysisTermResponse Rate Analysis, Responder-Based Analysis

An analysis classifying each patient as a responder or non-responder based on a predefined improvement threshold, reporting the responder proportion.

Responder DefinitionTermResponse Threshold, Responder Criterion

The specific threshold change in an outcome measure used to classify a patient as having experienced a meaningful clinical improvement.

Response ErrorTermRespondent Error, Answer Error

Inaccuracy in a survey response from a respondent's misunderstanding, faulty memory, or deliberate misreporting, unlike errors introduced later in processing.

Response LevelConceptResponse Category, Answer Category

Response level is one of the ordered answer categories of an instrument dimension or item, such as the five levels of each EQ-5D-5L dimension.

Response Option DesignTermAnswer Option Design, Response Scale Design

The methodological decisions involved in constructing the answer choices offered for each question in a health status instrument, including their number and wording.

Response SurfaceTermRSM, Fitted-Response Map

A fitted mathematical approximation describing how a model's output varies with its inputs, built from limited runs and used to predict untested combinations.

Response Surface MethodologyConceptResponse Surface Modelling, Surface-Fit Optimisation

Statistical techniques for modelling and optimising the relationship between several inputs and an output by fitting a smooth surface to limited results.

Response-Based PaymentTermResponse-Linked Payment, Pay-for-Response

A payment arrangement in which the amount a payer reimburses depends on whether an individual patient achieves a defined clinical response.

ResponsivenessConceptChange Detection, Ability to Detect Change, Sensitivity to Change

The ability of an outcome measurement instrument to detect change over time in the construct it is intended to measure, in a specified population and context of use.

Responsiveness AssessmentTermChange-Sensitivity Assessment, Responsiveness Testing

An evaluation of an outcome measure's ability to detect a clinically meaningful change in a patient's condition over time.

Restricted Cubic SplineConceptRCS, Restricted Cubic Splines

A restricted cubic spline is a smooth piecewise cubic function of a continuous predictor constrained to be linear beyond its outer knots, allowing regression models to represent nonlinear associations without prescribing one global polynomial shape.

Restricted ListingTermRestricted Reimbursement, Conditional Listing

The inclusion of a treatment on a reimbursement list subject to specific conditions, such as a patient subgroup restriction or prior authorisation.

Restricted Mean Survival TimeConceptRMST, Mean Survival to Horizon

A survival summary measure calculated as the area under the survival curve up to a specified time point, an alternative to the hazard ratio.

Restriction DecisionTermRestricted Recommendation, Conditional Coverage Decision

A body's determination that a technology should be funded only under specific conditions or for a defined patient subgroup.

Results-Based FinancingTermRBF, Result-Based Financing

A financing mechanism conditioning payments to providers or governments on achieving verified, predefined results, commonly used in international development contexts.

Retained Foreign ObjectTermRetained Surgical Item, RSI

A serious, generally preventable safety event in which a surgical instrument or item is unintentionally left inside a patient after surgery.

Retaliation ProtectionTermWhistleblower Protection, Anti-Retaliation Safeguard

A legal safeguard preventing an employer from punishing an employee for reporting suspected fraud, compliance violations, or other misconduct.

Retrospective DataTermHistorical Data, Back-Looking Data

Data collected by looking backward from a defined point, reconstructed from existing records rather than gathered as events occur.

Retrospective EvaluationTermLook-Back Evaluation, Backward-Looking Evaluation

An economic evaluation using data collected before the study began, such as historical records or claims, rather than data gathered specifically for it.

Retrospective PaymentTermRetrospective Reimbursement, Cost-Reimbursement Payment

A methodology reimbursing a provider based on actual costs or charges incurred, determined after care has been provided, unlike prospective payment.

Retrospective QueryTermPost-Discharge Query, Retro Query

A request from a documentation specialist to a physician made after discharge, seeking clarification to ensure accurate coding of a completed record.

Retrospective ReviewTermPost-Service Review, Look-Back Review

A utilisation management assessment conducted after a service has been delivered, evaluating whether it was consistent with coverage criteria.

Retrospective Risk AdjustmentConceptRetro Risk Adjustment, Concurrent-Year Adjustment

A risk adjustment method calculating payment adjustments after a coverage period ends, based on actual observed diagnoses and costs.

Return on AssetsConceptROA, Asset Return

A financial ratio calculated as net income divided by total assets, showing how efficiently an organisation uses its assets to generate profit.

Return on EquityConceptROE, Equity Return

A financial ratio calculated as net income divided by owner equity, showing the return generated on capital invested by an organisation's owners.

Return on InvestmentConceptROI, Investment Return

Return on investment is a monetary measure of the gain attributable to an intervention relative to its investment cost, calculated under an explicitly stated benefit, cost, time, and ratio convention.

Return to BaselineTermBaseline Return, Reversion to Baseline

A missing data method assuming a patient's outcome trajectory reverts to their original pre-treatment level from the point of discontinuation.

Revealed PreferenceTermRP, Observed Preference

An approach to inferring consumer preferences from observed choices in actual markets, rather than from hypothetical survey responses.

Revenue BudgetTermIncome Budget, Revenue Plan

A budget projecting the income an organisation expects to receive over a defined period, from sources such as patient fees.

Revenue CollectionTermRevenue Mobilisation, Domestic Resource Mobilisation

The process by which a health system raises financial resources, through mechanisms such as general taxation, social insurance, and private premiums.

Revenue Management HospitalTermRevenue Cycle Management, RCM

The financial strategies a hospital uses to optimise revenue generation, from patient registration and coding accuracy through billing and collections.

Reynolds-SmolenskyConceptRS Index, Redistributive Effect Index

An index measuring the redistributive effect of a tax or transfer system, calculated as the difference between pre-tax and post-tax income Gini coefficients.