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.
C
- Cost-Effective InterventionGood-Value Intervention, Efficient Intervention
- An intervention whose additional cost relative to its comparator is acceptable given its additional health benefit, judged against a cost-effectiveness threshold.
- Cost-Effectiveness Acceptability Curve (CEAC)Cost-Effectiveness Acceptability Curve, CEAC
- A graph plotting the probability an intervention is cost-effective against a range of possible values for the cost-effectiveness threshold.
- Cost-Effectiveness ThresholdCE Threshold, ICER Threshold
- A cost-effectiveness threshold is a benchmark used to judge whether the additional health produced by an intervention is worth its additional cost, usually expressed as an amount per QALY or another unit of health outcome.
D
- Decision RuleChoice Rule, Explicit Decision Criterion
- A decision rule is an explicit criterion for choosing between healthcare interventions by comparing their incremental costs and health effects with the relevant cost-effectiveness threshold.
- Decision Rule ApplicationRule Application, Threshold Application
- The process of applying a predetermined criterion, such as a cost-effectiveness threshold, to an economic evaluation's results to reach a funding recommendation.
E
- End-of-Life CriteriaEnd-of-Life Modifier, Terminal-Illness Criteria
- Special decision criteria applied by some health technology assessment bodies allowing a higher cost-effectiveness threshold for treatments of conditions with short life expectancy.
- Expected Net BenefitAverage Net Benefit, ENB
- Expected net benefit is the average net benefit of an alternative across the uncertainty represented in an economic evaluation, calculated at a stated cost-effectiveness threshold.
I
- 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.
L
- LambdaCost-Effectiveness Threshold Symbol, WTP Ceiling Symbol
- The symbol conventionally used for the cost-effectiveness threshold, or willingness to pay per unit of health effect, in net monetary benefit analysis.
N
- 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.
- 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.
P
- Price Elasticity of ICERICER Price Sensitivity, ICER Elasticity
- A measure of how sensitively a treatment's ICER responds to price changes, used to identify the price at which it crosses a cost-effectiveness threshold.
S
- Severity ModifierSeverity Weight, Severity Adjustment Factor
- An adjustment to a standard cost-effectiveness threshold permitting a higher accepted cost per QALY for treatments addressing more severe conditions.
- Shadow Price of HealthMarginal Value of Health, Health Opportunity Cost
- The implicit value of health gains forgone when a health budget is spent inefficiently, used as a basis for setting a cost-effectiveness threshold.
T
- Threshold PriceBreak-Even Price, Maximum Justifiable Price
- The price at which a technology's ICER exactly equals a decision-maker's cost-effectiveness threshold, the maximum price still considered an acceptable use of resources.
V
- Value-Based PricingVBP Pricing, Value-Based Price Setting
- A pricing approach setting a treatment's price to reflect its health benefit relative to existing alternatives, often linked to a cost-effectiveness threshold.