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.
I
- Infectious Disease Economics
- The broad application of health economic evaluation to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms.
- Injury Epidemiology
- A branch of epidemiology studying the distribution, causes, and prevention of injuries, both unintentional, such as falls, and intentional, such as assault.
- Innovation Cycle
- The recurring process through which new technologies are conceived, developed, tested, approved, and eventually superseded by later innovations.
- Insurance Policy
- A contractual arrangement in which an individual pays a periodic premium for financial protection against specified future events, up to defined terms.
- Interquartile Range
- A dispersion measure calculated as the difference between the seventy-fifth and twenty-fifth percentiles, the range containing the middle half of observations.
- Interval Censoring
- A form of censoring in which an event's exact time is unknown but known to fall within a specific interval, such as between visits.
- Isolation
- An infection control practice separating individuals known to be infected with a contagious disease from others, preventing further transmission.
J
- Joint Model
- A statistical approach analysing a longitudinal outcome, such as a repeated biomarker, alongside a time-to-event outcome, accounting for the link between them.
- Joint Probability
- The probability that two or more events all occur together, calculated as one event's probability multiplied by the others' conditional probability.
K
- Kaplan-Meier Curve
- A graphical display of the Kaplan-Meier survival estimate, shown as a step function that decreases at each observed event over time.
- Kaplan-Meier Estimator
- A non-parametric method for estimating the survival function from censored data, calculated as the product of conditional survival probabilities at each event.
- Kaplan-Meier Method
- The overall approach of estimating and comparing survival functions using the Kaplan-Meier estimator, accounting for censored observations in time-to-event data.
L
- Landmark Analysis
- A survival technique restricting analysis to patients event-free up to a predefined time point, then examining survival from that point forward.
- Left Censoring
- A form of censoring in which an event is known to have occurred before an observed time, but its exact prior timing is unknown.
- Level of Detail
- The degree of granularity with which a decision-analytic model represents disease states, events, and population characteristics.
- Lifecycle Plan
- A roadmap outlining a product's anticipated evolution over its market life, including planned label expansions and eventual patent expiration management.
- Lifestyle Intervention
- A programme modifying health-related behaviours, such as diet or smoking, used as a standalone preventive strategy or within disease management.
- Log-Rank Test
- A hypothesis test comparing survival distributions between groups by comparing observed and expected event counts at each event time.
M
- Maintenance Therapy
- Ongoing treatment given after an initial, more intensive phase to sustain a positive response and prevent relapse or progression.
- Malaria Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to malaria, a mosquito-borne parasitic disease, covering vector control, preventive treatment, vaccination, and treatment.
- Market Imperfection
- A departure from perfect competition, such as market power, information asymmetry, or externalities, that prevents a market from reaching an efficient outcome alone.
- Measles Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to measles, a highly contagious viral disease largely preventable through vaccination.
- Medication Error
- A preventable mistake occurring anywhere in the medication use process, from prescribing through dispensing to administration, whether or not harm results.
- Medication Reconciliation
- The process of creating an accurate medication list, comparing it against new orders at care transitions, and resolving discrepancies to prevent errors.
- Medication Safety
- Freedom from preventable harm associated with medication use, covering safe practice throughout prescribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring.
- Mental Health Economics
- The broad application of health economic evaluation to mental health conditions and treatment, spanning prevention, psychotherapy, medication, and specialist psychiatric services.
- Microsimulation
- A simulation technique modelling individual entities separately through time based on their own characteristics and randomly sampled events, with results emerging from the total.
- Migraine Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to migraine, comparing acute treatment, preventive medication, and newer targeted therapies for this recurrent, often disabling condition.
- Milestone Analysis
- A survival technique examining the proportion of patients event-free at a specific, predefined follow-up time, rather than reporting a full curve.
- Model Structure
- The overall organisation of a health economic model, including its technique, the health states or events represented, and how they link together.
- MRSA Rate
- A measure of the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections within a facility, an infection prevention and resistance indicator.
- Mumps Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to mumps, a viral infection largely preventable through standard childhood immunisation programmes.
N
- Near Miss
- An event with the potential to cause patient harm that did not actually result in injury, through intervention or chance.
- Near Miss Investigation
- An inquiry following an event that could have caused harm but did not, intended to address system vulnerabilities before actual harm occurs.
- Near Miss Rate
- A measure of how frequently potential errors are identified and prevented before reaching a patient, an indicator of safety culture.
- Near Miss Reporting
- The systematic documentation of events with potential to cause harm that did not result in injury, revealing system vulnerabilities early.
- Number Needed to ScreenNNS
- The number of individuals who would need screening for a condition to prevent one adverse outcome, based on prevalence and programme effectiveness.
O
- Obesity Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to obesity prevention and treatment, spanning lifestyle intervention, medication, and bariatric surgery.
- Oncology Economics
- The broad application of health economic evaluation to cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
- Opioid Use Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to opioid use disorder, covering medication-assisted treatment, overdose prevention, and broader public health responses.
- Oral Health Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to dental and oral healthcare, covering prevention, restorative treatment, and periodontal disease management.
- Osteoporosis Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to osteoporosis, covering screening, preventive medication, and fracture prevention in at-risk populations.
- Outcome Structure
- The way a decision-analytic model links its outcomes, including how intermediate clinical events translate into measures such as QALYs and total cost.
- Overall Survival
- A time-to-event measure defined as the time from treatment start, or trial randomisation, until death from any cause.
P
- Paediatric EconomicsPediatric Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to the healthcare needs of infants, children, and adolescents, including preventive care and congenital conditions.
- Parametric Survival Model
- A statistical model assuming time-to-event data follow a specific distribution, such as Weibull or log-normal, allowing extrapolation beyond observed data.
- Pathway
- The sequence of health states or clinical events a hypothetical patient may follow through a decision-analytic model, from entry to final outcome.
- Patient Flow Model
- A discrete event simulation or related model representing how patients move through a healthcare facility, capturing waiting times and resource bottlenecks.
- Patient Safety
- The absence of preventable harm to a patient during healthcare, and reduction of unnecessary harm risk to an acceptable minimum.
- Patient Safety Indicator
- A standardised measure identifying potentially preventable complications during hospital care, using administrative claims data to flag cases for review.