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.
U
- Utilisation ManagementTermUtilization Management, UM
- Techniques payers use to assess and control the appropriateness and volume of healthcare services, including prior authorisation and claims review.
- Utilisation Management DesignTermUM Design, Utilisation Management Programme Design
- The process of determining a payer's utilisation management programme structure, covering which services require prior authorisation and applicable criteria.
- Utilisation RateTermUtilization Rate, Service Use Rate
- A measure of how frequently a service or resource is used within a population, typically expressed relative to population size.
- Utilisation ReviewConceptUtilization Review, UR
- Techniques payers use to assess and control appropriateness and volume of healthcare services, covering prior authorisation and claims review.
- Utilisation TrendTermUtilization Trend, Service Use Trend
- The pattern of change in healthcare service use over time, identifying emerging demand shifts or effects of policy changes.
- Utilitarian WelfareTermUtilitarianism, Sum-Ranking Welfare
- A conception of social welfare judging policies by the sum, or average, of individual utility across the population, regardless of distribution.
- UtilityConceptPreference Satisfaction, Wellbeing Measure
- Utility is a numerical measure of preference; in health economics, a health utility values a health state on a scale where 1 is full health and 0 is dead.
- Utility FunctionConceptPreference Function, Utility Representation
- A mathematical representation of preferences that assigns a numerical value to each possible outcome, so higher-utility outcomes are preferred.
- Utility MaximisationConceptUtility Maximization, Preference Optimisation
- The behavioural assumption that individuals make choices intended to achieve the highest possible satisfaction given their preferences and constraints.
- Utility StructureTermUtility Framework, Utility Configuration
- The way a decision-analytic model assigns health state utility values, including adjustments for factors such as age or treatment-related adverse events.
- Utility WeightConceptQALY Weight, Health-State Weight
- A numerical value representing the relative desirability of a specific health state, used to weight time in that state for QALYs.
- Utility-Based MeasureTermHealth Utility Instrument, Preference-Based HRQoL Tool
- A health outcome measure whose scores derive from a formal preference elicitation process and can be used directly to weight time for QALYs.