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.
A
- Activity-Based CostingABC, Activity Costing
- Activity-based costing is a costing method that assigns resource costs to activities through causal cost drivers and then traces activity costs to services, patients, or other cost objects according to their use of those activities.
- Actual CostRealised Cost, Realized Cost, Observed Cost, Incurred Cost
- The real, measured expense incurred delivering a healthcare service, based on observed resource use and prices, unlike a standard or estimated cost.
- Administrative Cost RatioACR, Expense Ratio
- A measure of the proportion of an insurer's revenue spent on administrative functions, such as claims processing, rather than actual claims.
- Adverse Event CostAE Cost, Toxicity Management Cost, Side Effect Cost
- The expense of managing a treatment's side effects, covering additional medical visits, hospitalisation, and supportive medications required.
- Affordability ThresholdBudget-Impact Threshold, Total-Cost Ceiling
- The level of budget impact beyond which a payer considers a new technology's total cost unsustainable, regardless of its individual cost-effectiveness.
- Aggregate Cost EstimationTop-Down Cost Estimation
- An approach to estimating an intervention's cost using summary, population-level data rather than detailed patient-level resource-use records.
- Aging-Driven Cost GrowthAgeing-Driven Cost Growth, Demographic Cost Pressure
- The portion of rising healthcare expenditure attributed to a population's increasing average age and the associated shift toward more complex conditions.
- AMR Economic BurdenResistance Cost Burden
- The total economic cost attributable to antimicrobial resistance, covering increased treatment costs, longer hospital stays, and lost productivity from resistant infections.
- Annual CostYearly Cost, Annual Treatment Cost
- The total expense of a treatment or condition over a one-year period, a standardised basis for comparing chronic treatment costs.
- Asthma EconomicsEconomics of Asthma, Asthma Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to asthma, comparing inhaled medication regimens and, for severe cases, newer biologic therapies.
- Attributable Cost EstimationAttributable Costing, Disease-Attributable Cost
- The process of isolating the portion of total healthcare cost specifically attributable to a given condition or intervention, separate from unrelated costs.
- Average Cost EstimationMean Cost Estimation, Average Costing
- The process of estimating cost per unit of service by dividing total observed cost by units delivered, without separating fixed and variable components.
- Average Cost-Effectiveness RatioAverage Cost-Effectiveness, ACER
- The total cost of an intervention divided by its total health effect, calculated for each option rather than as a comparison.
- Avoidable CostEscapable Cost, Discretionary Cost
- A cost that would not be incurred if a particular activity, service, or decision were eliminated.
- Avoidable Cost EstimationAvoidable Costing, Avoidable-Cost Analysis
- The process of identifying and quantifying the portion of cost that could be eliminated if a specific activity or inefficiency were removed.
B
- Bayesian Analysis CEABayesian CEA, Bayesian Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
- The application of Bayesian statistical methods to cost-effectiveness analysis, combining prior beliefs with observed trial data to produce posterior distributions.
- Bone Infection EconomicsOsteomyelitis Economics, Bone Infection Cost Analysis
- The application of health economic evaluation to osteomyelitis, bone tissue infection typically requiring prolonged antibiotics and sometimes surgical intervention.
- Bottom-Up Cost-of-IllnessBottom-Up COI, Prevalence-Based Bottom-Up Costing
- A cost-of-illness study estimating a disease's economic burden by aggregating detailed cost data collected at the individual patient level.
- Bottom-Up CostingIngredient-Based Costing, Patient-Level Costing
- Bottom-up costing estimates the cost of care by measuring the resources used for a patient, service, or pathway and valuing each resource with an appropriate unit cost.
C
- Cancer Prevention EconomicsCancer Prevention Cost-Effectiveness, Oncology Prevention Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to reducing cancer incidence, spanning vaccination against cancer-causing infections, lifestyle programmes, and chemoprevention.
- Cancer Screening EconomicsScreening Cost-Effectiveness, Oncology Screening Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to cancer screening programmes across cancer types, comparing intervals, modalities, and eligible population definitions.
- Cancer Staging EconomicsTumour Staging Economics, Staging Cost Analysis
- The application of health economic evaluation to cancer staging systems, which classify disease spread and guide treatment decisions and prognosis.
- Capital CostCapital Expenditure, CapEx
- The cost of long-lived assets, such as buildings and medical equipment, used in delivering a health intervention.
- Chemotherapy CostChemo Cost, Cytotoxic Treatment Cost
- The total expense of cytotoxic cancer treatment, covering drug acquisition, administration, and management of associated side effects.
- Cholecystitis EconomicsGallbladder Inflammation Economics, Cholecystitis Cost Analysis
- The application of health economic evaluation to gallbladder inflammation, comparing timing and approach to surgical removal against conservative medical management.
- Chronic Pain EconomicsPersistent Pain Economics, Chronic Pain Cost Analysis
- The application of health economic evaluation to chronic pain, comparing medication, physical therapy, interventional procedures, and multidisciplinary pain management.
- Clinical Trial CostTrial Conduct Cost, Study Execution Cost
- The total expense of designing, conducting, and analysing a clinical trial, a substantial component of the overall cost of bringing a treatment to market.
- Clinical Trial Economics OncologyOncology Trial Economics, Cancer Trial Cost Analysis
- The application of clinical trial cost analysis to oncology research, characterised by complex trial designs using biomarker-based selection and extended follow-up.
- CoinsuranceCo-insurance, Percentage Cost-Sharing
- Coinsurance is the percentage of the allowed cost of a covered healthcare service that an insured person pays under the plan's cost-sharing rules, commonly after satisfying the applicable deductible.
- Common Cost AllocationJoint Cost Allocation, Shared Cost Allocation
- The process of assigning a cost jointly incurred across multiple services or departments to each of them using a chosen allocation rule.
- Companion Diagnostic EconomicsCompanion Diagnostic Cost-Effectiveness, CDx Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to diagnostic tests developed alongside a specific targeted cancer therapy, identifying patients likely to benefit.
- Controllable CostManageable Cost, Manager-Influenced Cost
- A cost that a specific manager or department can influence through their decisions, unlike costs imposed by outside factors.
- CopaymentCopay, Fixed Fee Cost-Share
- A cost-sharing form in which an insured person pays a fixed sum for a covered service, unlike coinsurance's percentage-based payment.
- COPD EconomicsChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Economics, COPD Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, comparing inhaled medication, pulmonary rehabilitation, and severe-case interventions.
- Corridor DeductibleCorridor Cost-Sharing, Middle-Range Deductible
- A deductible structure in which a middle range of costs requires patient cost-sharing, while costs below and above that range are more fully covered.
- Cost AvoidanceAvoided Cost, Averted Expenditure
- A reduction in future spending achieved by preventing a costly event, such as hospitalisation, unlike a direct reduction of current spending.
- Cost Management HospitalHospital Cost Management, Hospital Cost Control
- The set of strategies a hospital employs to control and optimise operating costs while maintaining or improving care quality.
- Cost OutlierOutlier Case, High-Cost Case
- A case whose actual treatment cost substantially exceeds what standard diagnosis-related group payment would expect, triggering additional supplemental payment.
- Cost ReportProvider Financial Report, Medicare Cost Filing
- A standardised financial document providers must periodically submit to government payers, detailing costs across various service categories.
- Cost-Benefit AnalysisCBA, Benefit-Cost Analysis
- Cost-benefit analysis is a full economic evaluation that values the differences in the costs and consequences of healthcare alternatives in monetary terms so that their net social value can be compared.
- Cost-Consequence AnalysisCCA, Disaggregated Cost-Outcome Analysis
- An evaluation that displays each option’s costs and range of outcomes separately, allowing decision-makers to consider them without a combined summary result.
- Cost-Effectiveness PlaneCE Plane, Incremental Cost-Effect Plane
- A graph plotting an intervention's incremental cost against its incremental effect relative to a comparator, cost on the vertical axis and effect on the horizontal.
- Cost-of-Illness StudyCOI Study, Burden of Disease Costing
- A cost-of-illness study is a descriptive economic analysis that identifies, measures and values the healthcare resource use, patient and caregiver costs, productivity losses and other economic consequences attributable to a disease, injury or risk factor in a defined population and period.
- Cost-Utility AnalysisCUA, QALY-Based Cost-Effectiveness
- Cost-utility analysis is a full economic evaluation that compares healthcare alternatives by relating differences in their costs to differences in preference-weighted health outcomes, most commonly quality-adjusted life years.
- CRE EconomicsCarbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Economics, CRE Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections, a highly drug-resistant bacterial group posing a serious resistance threat.
- CVD Diagnosis EconomicsCardiovascular Diagnosis Economics, CVD Diagnostic Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to cardiovascular diagnostic strategies, comparing cost and accuracy across stress testing, imaging, and biomarker panels.
- CVD Prevention EconomicsCardiovascular Prevention Economics, CVD Prevention Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to cardiovascular disease prevention, spanning lifestyle programmes, preventive medication, and population health policy.
- CVD Screening EconomicsCardiovascular Screening Economics, CVD Screening Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to cardiovascular screening programmes for asymptomatic populations, accounting for both true and false test results.
- CVD Treatment EconomicsCardiovascular Treatment Economics, CVD Therapy Cost-Effectiveness
- The application of health economic evaluation to the full range of treatments for established cardiovascular disease, including medication, procedures, and surgery.
D
- Data Management CostData Handling Cost, Study Data Cost
- The expense of collecting, cleaning, storing, and validating research data within a study, a significant component of overall study cost.