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.
H
- Health InsuranceMedical Insurance, Health Coverage
- Health insurance is a financing arrangement that pools prepaid contributions and covers specified healthcare costs when insured members need care, thereby sharing financial risk across the insured population.
- Health Services ResearchHSR, Health Systems Research
- In health economics, the multidisciplinary study of how people access health care, what it costs, and its outcomes, to inform policy and practice.
- Healthcare PerspectiveHealth System Perspective, Third-Party Payer Perspective
- An analytic viewpoint including only costs and outcomes falling on the healthcare payer or provider, excluding broader costs such as productivity loss.
- Healthcare Sector PerspectiveHealth Sector Perspective, Health Care Sector Viewpoint
- An analytic viewpoint including costs and outcomes across the healthcare system broadly, but still excluding costs falling entirely outside the health sector.
- Heart Transplant EconomicsCardiac Transplant Economics, Heart Graft Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to heart transplantation, weighing procedure and lifelong immunosuppression costs against survival benefit for end-stage failure.
- Hepatitis C EconomicsHCV Economics, Hep C Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to hepatitis C, evolving substantially as curative antiviral treatment costs have declined and eligible populations expanded.
- Hierarchical Condition CategoryHCC, Condition Category Model
- A US Medicare Advantage risk classification system grouping diagnosis codes into hierarchical, clinically related categories to predict future healthcare costs.
- High Deductible Health PlanHDHP, High-Deductible Plan
- A plan with a deductible above a regulatory minimum threshold, giving lower premiums but requiring a larger upfront share of routine costs.
- Highly Specialized TechnologyHST, Highly Specialised Technology Pathway
- A distinct evaluation pathway for treatments addressing very rare conditions, applying different evidentiary and cost-effectiveness standards than common conditions.
- Hospital-Acquired InfectionIn-Hospital Infection, Hospital Infection
- An infection a patient develops during care in a healthcare facility, not present or incubating at admission, a largely preventable cost.
- Hyperlipidemia EconomicsEconomics of Hyperlipidaemia, High Cholesterol Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to elevated blood lipid levels, assessing lipid-lowering medication cost against long-term cardiovascular benefit.
- Hypertension EconomicsEconomics of Hypertension, High Blood Pressure Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to high blood pressure, comparing medication classes and combinations for cost-effectiveness in cutting cardiovascular events.
I
- Immunotherapy EconomicsImmuno-Oncology Economics, Economics of Immunotherapy
- The application of health economic evaluation to cancer immunotherapy, comparing substantial upfront cost against durable clinical responses observed in some patients.
- Impact AssessmentDecision Consequence Review, Consequence Evaluation
- An evaluation of the anticipated or actual consequences of an assessment decision, covering patient outcomes, costs, and societal effects.
- Incomplete Treatment
- A coping strategy in which a patient begins but does not complete a prescribed treatment course due to cost concerns.
- Incremental Analysis MethodIncremental Approach, Marginal Comparison Method
- An analytic approach comparing the additional cost and effect of one option relative to the next best alternative, rather than each option's total.
- Incremental Net BenefitINB, Incremental Net-Benefit Statistic
- The difference in expected net benefit between two competing interventions, found by converting the incremental health effect into money and subtracting incremental cost.
- Incremental Net Monetary BenefitINMB, Incremental Monetary Net Benefit
- Incremental net monetary benefit, or INMB, converts the difference in health outcomes between two alternatives into a monetary value at a stated cost-effectiveness threshold and then subtracts their difference in cost.
- Individual Patient SimulationIPS, Patient-Level Simulation, Individual-Level Simulation, Microsimulation, Patient-Level Microsimulation, Individual-Based Simulation, Individual Patient Modelling, Individual Patient Modeling
- Individual patient simulation is a modelling approach that generates separate patient histories under specified rules and aggregates their costs and health outcomes for a target population.
- Inflation AdjustmentPrice Rebasing, Real-Terms Adjustment
- The process of restating cost data from different time periods in constant, comparable price terms, typically using a relevant price index.
- Innovation AssessmentInnovation Evaluation
- An evaluation of how far a new technology advances on the existing standard of care, informing whether its novelty justifies additional cost.
- Institutional PerspectiveHospital Perspective, Provider Institution Perspective
- An analytic viewpoint including only costs and outcomes relevant to a single institution, such as a hospital, rather than the broader health system.
- International ComparisonCross-Country Comparison, Cross-National Comparison
- An analysis examining how health outcomes, costs, or policies differ across multiple countries, identifying best practices and system design effects.
- Interoperability SavingsInteroperability Benefits, Data-Exchange Savings
- The cost savings and efficiency gains achieved when healthcare information systems can seamlessly exchange data, avoiding duplication and administrative burden.
- Intervention PerspectiveIntervention-Level Perspective, Intervention-Defined Viewpoint
- An analytic viewpoint defined by the specific intervention being studied, including all costs and outcomes directly attributable to it regardless of who bears them.
- Interventional Cardiology EconomicsEconomics of Interventional Cardiology, Cath Lab Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to catheter-based cardiac procedures, comparing cost and outcomes against surgical alternatives and medical management.
- Inventory Management HealthMedical Inventory Management, Stock Management
- The processes an organisation uses to track and optimise its supply of medical products, balancing availability against excess inventory costs.
- Investment HorizonInvestment Time Horizon, Payback Horizon
- The length of time over which an investment's costs and returns are expected to be realised and evaluated.
K
- Kidney Transplant EconomicsRenal Transplant Economics, Economics of Kidney Transplantation
- The application of health economic evaluation to kidney transplantation, weighing procedure and lifelong immunosuppression costs against benefit relative to long-term dialysis.
L
- League Table ConstructionICER Ranking, League Table Assembly
- The process of assembling and ranking incremental cost-effectiveness ratios from multiple separate studies into a single comparative table to guide resource allocation.
- Lifetime MaximumLifetime Limit, Lifetime Benefit Cap
- A cap on the total amount an insurance plan will pay toward covered costs over an individual's entire coverage duration.
- Limited Societal PerspectiveRestricted Societal Perspective, Modified Societal Perspective
- An analytic viewpoint including healthcare sector costs along with a defined subset of non-healthcare costs, such as informal carer time, short of a full societal view.
- Linear Model HealthLinear Predictor Model, Health Linear Model
- A statistical or decision-analytic model in which inputs and outputs are related by a simple linear function, such as a constant per-unit cost.
- Liver Transplant EconomicsHepatic Transplant Economics, Liver Graft Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to liver transplantation, weighing procedure and lifelong immunosuppression costs against survival benefit for end-stage disease.
- Local PerspectiveSub-National Perspective, Local Health Authority Perspective
- An analytic viewpoint considering costs and outcomes relevant to a specific region or local health authority, rather than a national health system.
- Lookup TableReference Table, Precomputed Value Table
- A data structure storing precomputed values, such as mortality rates or unit costs, indexed for quick retrieval within a health economic model.
- Low-Income SubsidyExtra Help Subsidy, Part D Low-Income Assistance
- Financial assistance reducing the cost of health insurance or healthcare specifically for individuals or households with limited resources.
- Low-Value CareLow-Value Service, Wasteful Care
- Healthcare services providing little or no clinical benefit relative to cost, or carrying harm risk exceeding likely benefit.
M
- Mail-Order PharmacyMail-Order Dispensing, Home Delivery Pharmacy
- A pharmacy service dispensing and delivering prescription medications directly to patients by mail, typically at lower cost for maintenance medications.
- Malpractice RVUMP RVU, Professional Liability RVU
- A US Medicare relative value component reflecting the professional liability insurance cost attributable to providing a specific service.
- Managed Care OrganizationMCO, Managed Care Insurer
- An entity coordinating healthcare delivery for a defined population using a contracted provider network and utilisation management tools to control costs.
- Marginal AnalysisAnalysis at the Margin, Incremental Reasoning
- An approach to resource allocation examining the additional cost and benefit of small changes in an activity's level, rather than its total cost and benefit.
- Market FailureMarket Inefficiency, Allocation Failure, Market Imperfection
- A market failure occurs when market exchange does not produce an efficient allocation of resources because prices or incentives fail to reflect relevant costs, benefits, information or competitive conditions.
- MCDA in HTAMulti-Criteria HTA, MCDA Appraisal
- The application of multi-criteria decision analysis within assessment, weighing multiple factors such as benefit, cost, and equity together explicitly.
- Mini-HTAMini Health Technology Assessment, Rapid Hospital HTA
- A simplified, abbreviated form of assessment for use at hospital or department level, typically applied to lower-cost or lower-risk technologies.
- Minimum Effective DoseMED, Threshold Dose
- The lowest drug dose that produces a clinically meaningful therapeutic effect, important for both safety and avoiding unnecessary medication cost.
- Minimum ValueMV Standard, Employer Plan Value Test
- A US regulatory standard requiring an employer plan cover at least sixty percent of allowed benefit costs to satisfy the employer mandate.
- Model AdaptationModel Repurposing, Setting Transfer
- The process of modifying an existing model, built for one country, so it validly reflects the practice, costs, and population of another.
- Model HorizonModelling Horizon, Projection Period
- The total length of time over which a decision-analytic model simulates costs and outcomes, from short-term to full lifetime.
- Model OutputModel Results, Analysis Output
- The results produced by a health economic model, such as total expected cost, QALYs, and the resulting incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.