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.

201–250 of 666 terms matching “Cost”

J

Joint CostCommon Cost, Shared Cost
A cost incurred jointly in producing two or more services or outputs, so it cannot be attributed uniquely to any single one.

L

Lifetime CostLifetime Healthcare Cost, Whole-of-Life Cost
The total expected healthcare expenditure a patient will incur over the remainder of their life, related to a condition and sometimes unrelated future costs.
Long-Term Care CostLTC Cost, Continuing Care Expense
The expense of ongoing support services for people with chronic illness, disability, or age-related decline, spanning home-based and residential settings.
Lupus EconomicsSLE Economics, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Cost
The application of health economic evaluation to systemic lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune condition with unpredictable flares affecting multiple organs.

M

Macular Degeneration EconomicsAMD Economics, Age-Related Macular Degeneration Cost
The application of health economic evaluation to age-related macular degeneration, comparing anti-VEGF injectable treatments and their administration schedules.
Malaria EconomicsMalaria Cost of Illness, Malaria Burden Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to malaria, a mosquito-borne parasitic disease, covering vector control, preventive treatment, vaccination, and treatment.
Marginal Cost EstimationMarginal Cost Calculation, Incremental Unit Costing
The process of estimating the additional cost of producing one more unit of a good or service at the current level of output.
Marginal Cost of HealthcareHealthcare Marginal Cost, Marginal Health System Cost
The additional cost of providing one more unit of healthcare service, such as treating one further patient.
Marginal Cost-EffectivenessMarginal CE, Expansion Cost-Effectiveness
The additional cost required to produce one more unit of health effect at the margin of an intervention's current scale, distinct from its average.
Measles EconomicsMeasles Cost of Illness, Rubeola Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to measles, a highly contagious viral disease largely preventable through vaccination.
Meningitis EconomicsMeningococcal Economics, Meningitis Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to meningitis, an infection of the brain and spinal cord membranes caused by various bacterial and viral pathogens.
mHealth Cost-EffectivenessMobile Health CEA, Digital Health CEA
An assessment of the cost-effectiveness of mobile health apps used to support disease management, monitoring, or health behaviour change.
Micro-CostingDetailed Resource Costing, Micro-Level Cost Analysis
Micro-costing is a detailed method of estimating the cost of healthcare activities by identifying and measuring their individual resource components and valuing each component with an appropriate unit cost.
Migraine EconomicsHeadache Economics, Migraine Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to migraine, comparing acute treatment, preventive medication, and newer targeted therapies for this recurrent, often disabling condition.
Monitoring CostSurveillance Cost, Drug Monitoring Expense
The expense of tracking a patient's treatment response and screening for adverse effects, covering laboratory tests, imaging, and clinical visits.
MRSA EconomicsMRSA Cost of Illness, Methicillin-Resistant Staph Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a common and serious antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogen.
Multiple Sclerosis EconomicsMS Economics, Multiple Sclerosis Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to multiple sclerosis, comparing an expanding range of disease-modifying therapies with varying costs and efficacy.
Mumps EconomicsMumps Cost of Illness, Parotitis Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to mumps, a viral infection largely preventable through standard childhood immunisation programmes.

N

National Schedule of Reference CostsNSRC, Reference Cost Schedule
A standardised set of unit costs for healthcare services, published to enable consistent costing across an entire health system.
Negative ExternalityExternal Cost, Negative Spillover
A cost imposed on a third party by an economic activity, not reflected in its market price, leading to overproduction relative to the social optimum.
NICE ThresholdNICE Cost-Effectiveness Threshold, NICE QALY Threshold
The range of cost per QALY, typically cited as between twenty thousand and thirty thousand pounds, that NICE uses to judge acceptable NHS spending.
Nominal CostCurrent-Price Cost, Money-Terms Cost
A cost expressed in the prices of the period in which it was actually incurred, without adjustment for inflation.
Non-Preferred TierHigh Cost-Share Tier, Non-Formulary Tier
A formulary or network category with the highest cost-sharing in a tiered design, applied to options an insurer wishes to discourage.
Norovirus EconomicsNorovirus Cost of Illness, Winter Vomiting Bug Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to norovirus, a highly contagious virus causing acute gastroenteritis with substantial healthcare and productivity costs.
Northeast QuadrantNE Quadrant, More Costly More Effective Quadrant
The region of the cost-effectiveness plane where a new intervention is both more costly and more effective than its comparator.
Not Cost-EffectiveBelow Threshold Value, Poor Value for Money
A judgement that an intervention's ICER exceeds the relevant cost-effectiveness threshold, meaning its extra benefit does not justify its extra cost.

O

Obesity EconomicsEconomics of Obesity, Obesity Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to obesity prevention and treatment, spanning lifestyle intervention, medication, and bariatric surgery.
Occupational Therapy EconomicsOT Economics, Occupational Therapy Cost
The application of health economic evaluation to occupational therapy, which helps patients regain daily activity skills after illness, injury, or disability.
Operating BudgetRecurrent Budget, Running-Costs Budget
A budget covering the day-to-day revenues and expenses required to run an organisation's ongoing operations.
Operating CostRunning Cost, Recurrent Cost
The recurring cost of an organisation's ongoing operations, such as staffing, supplies, and utilities, as distinct from one-off capital investment.
Opportunity CostForgone Benefit, Alternative Cost
The value of the next best alternative forgone when a resource is allocated to a particular use.
Opportunity Cost AnalysisOpportunity-Cost Appraisal, Foregone-Benefit Analysis
A form of analysis explicitly estimating the health or value forgone elsewhere in a system when resources are allocated to a specific intervention.
Opportunity Cost AssessmentOpportunity-Cost Evaluation, Displacement Assessment
The process of estimating what health benefits or other value are displaced when a health system commits resources to a new intervention.
Opportunity Cost CriterionOpportunity-Cost Decision Rule, Health-Maximising Criterion
A decision rule stating that an intervention should only be adopted if the value it produces exceeds the value of resources it displaces elsewhere.
Out-of-Pocket CostOOP Cost, Patient Out-of-Pocket Spending
The amount a patient or household pays directly for health care without third-party reimbursement, including applicable cost sharing and uncovered care.
Outlier PaymentHigh-Cost Case Payment, Outlier Adjustment
A supplemental payment made in addition to standard prospective payment for a case whose actual cost or stay substantially exceeds expectations.
Outpatient CostAmbulatory Cost, Outpatient Care Cost
The expense of healthcare services delivered without an overnight hospital stay, such as clinic visits, diagnostic testing, and same-day procedures.
Overhead CostIndirect Overhead, Overhead Expense
A cost that supports an organisation's overall operations but cannot be directly attributed to a specific service or department, such as administration.

P

Pacemaker EconomicsPacemaker Cost-Effectiveness, Cardiac Pacing Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to implantable pacemakers, weighing device and implant cost against improved quality of life for bradycardia.
Palliative Care EconomicsPalliative Economics, Palliative-Care Costing
The application of health economic evaluation to specialist care relieving symptoms and improving quality of life for serious illness, regardless of prognosis.
Pancreatitis EconomicsPancreatic Inflammation Economics, Pancreatitis Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to pancreatic inflammation, covering both acute episodes and chronic, recurring disease.
Patient Recruitment CostRecruitment Cost, Enrolment Cost
The expense of identifying, screening, and enrolling eligible participants into a clinical trial, a significant and often underestimated component of trial cost.
Personality Disorder EconomicsPersonality Disorder Cost of Illness, Cluster-B Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to personality disorders, chronic conditions requiring specialist, often long-term psychotherapy approaches.
Pertussis EconomicsWhooping Cough Economics, Pertussis Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to pertussis, or whooping cough, a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection largely preventable through vaccination.
Pneumonia EconomicsPneumonia Cost of Illness, Lower Respiratory Infection Economics
The application of health economic evaluation to pneumonia, comparing outpatient antibiotic management against hospitalisation for more severe cases.
Polio EconomicsPoliomyelitis Economics, Polio Cost of Illness
The application of health economic evaluation to poliomyelitis, a paralysis-causing viral disease targeted for global eradication through sustained vaccination.
Predicted CostForecast Cost, Modelled Cost
An estimate of expected future healthcare expenditure generated using a risk adjustment model incorporating demographics, diagnoses, and prior utilisation.
Preferred TierLow-Copay Tier, Favoured Cost Tier
A formulary or network category with more favourable, typically lower, cost-sharing in a tiered design, encouraging use of preferred options.
Primary Care CostGP Cost, First-Contact Care Cost
The expense of healthcare services delivered by general practitioners and other primary care providers, a health system's typical first point of contact.
Principal-Agent ProblemAgency Cost Problem, Principal-Agent Dilemma
The difficulty arising when an agent's actions cannot be fully observed by the principal, creating an incentive for the agent to serve their own interest.