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
- Adjuvant Therapy
- Treatment given after a primary treatment, most commonly surgery, to eliminate remaining cancer cells and reduce the risk of recurrence.
- Advanced Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation approach applying sophisticated methods, such as mathematical optimisation or marginal analysis across linked budgets, to distribute limited resources.
- Adverse Event Reporting
- The systematic process of documenting and communicating instances of patient harm from medical care, used to identify patterns and target improvement.
- Analytical Method
- A mathematical approach solving a model using closed-form equations, unlike a simulation-based approach relying on repeated random sampling.
- Attribute
- A characteristic of a good or service that is varied systematically across profiles in a choice experiment, such as price or waiting time.
- Audit Standards
- The specific criteria used to systematically review a study's conduct and records to verify compliance with its protocol and ethical requirements.
B
- Bayes Theorem
- A mathematical formula describing how to update the probability of a hypothesis based on new evidence, combining a prior probability with a likelihood.
- Benchmarking Process
- The systematic methodology comparing an organisation's performance against external standards or peers, covering data collection and improvement identification.
- Best Practice Identification
- The process of systematically identifying methods that have consistently demonstrated superior results, through rigorous evidence review and professional consensus.
D
- Demand
- The quantity of a good or service consumers are willing and able to purchase at a given price over a specified period.
- Demand Curve
- A graph showing the relationship between price and quantity demanded, typically sloping downward as consumers buy less when price rises.
- Demand for HealthGrossman Model
- An economic framework in which individuals demand health as a valued and productive stock, while healthcare, personal time and other inputs are demanded partly because they can maintain or improve that stock.
- Demand Forecasting
- The process of predicting future healthcare service demand based on historical utilisation, demographic trends, and other relevant factors.
- Demand Inducement
- The phenomenon in which physicians, using their informational advantage, influence patient demand for care beyond what a fully informed patient would choose.
- Demand Management
- Strategies used to influence and manage the level and timing of healthcare service utilisation, such as triage and appointment scheduling.
- Demand Price
- The maximum price consumers are willing to pay for a given quantity of a good, represented along a standard demand curve.
- Demand-Side Control
- Cost containment strategies targeting patient-side incentives, such as cost-sharing, to influence utilisation, unlike supply-side controls targeting provider behaviour.
- Derived Demand for Healthcare
- The concept that demand for healthcare is not valued for its own sake but derives from an underlying demand for health itself.
E
- Elastic Demand
- A condition in which quantity demanded changes proportionally more than a given price change, indicating consumers are relatively sensitive to price.
- EMA
- The European Medicines Agency, responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision, and safety monitoring of medicines within the European Union.
- Emancipated Minor
- A legal status granting an individual below the age of majority the authority to make their own decisions, including healthcare, independent of parental consent.
H
- Haematologic ResponseHematologic Response
- A response criterion in blood cancers assessing normalisation of blood cell counts and examination findings, the least sensitive but most readily available level.
- Haematology EconomicsHematology Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to blood-related conditions, covering anaemia, clotting disorders, and haematologic malignancies.
I
- Income Elasticity of Demand
- A measure of how quantity demanded responds to a change in consumer income, calculated as percentage change in demand over percentage change in income.
- Inelastic Demand
- A condition in which quantity demanded changes proportionally less than a given price change, indicating consumers are relatively insensitive to price.
P
- Pacemaker Economics
- The application of health economic evaluation to implantable pacemakers, weighing device and implant cost against improved quality of life for bradycardia.
- Price Elasticity of Demand
- A measure of how responsive quantity demanded is to a price change, calculated as percentage change in quantity over percentage change in price.
S
- Supplier-Induced Demand
- The phenomenon in which providers, using their informational advantage, influence the quantity or type of care demanded beyond what informed patients would choose.
- Systematic Access Assessment
- An access assessment conducted through a structured, replicable process, typically synthesising evidence across multiple studies.
- Systematic Benefit Assessment
- A benefit assessment carried out through a structured, replicable process, typically involving a systematic review of the available clinical evidence.
- Systematic Cost Analysis
- A cost analysis conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising cost data across multiple studies or settings.
- Systematic Decision Analysis
- A decision analysis constructed through a structured, replicable process, often incorporating a systematic review of the evidence used to populate the model.
- Systematic Effectiveness Research
- Effectiveness research conducted through a structured, replicable process, typically synthesising evidence across multiple real-world studies.
- Systematic Equity Analysis
- An equity analysis conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising evidence on disparities across multiple studies or data sources.
- Systematic Error
- A consistent, non-random deviation of results from the true value, arising from a specific flaw in design, measurement, or analysis.
- Systematic Impact Analysis
- An impact analysis conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising evidence across multiple studies of similar programmes.
- Systematic Innovation Assessment
- An innovation assessment conducted through a structured, replicable process, typically involving a systematic review of the available clinical and technical evidence.
- Systematic Outcome Assessment
- An outcome assessment carried out through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising results across multiple studies or settings.
- Systematic Performance Measurement
- A performance measurement conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising performance data across multiple studies or settings.
- Systematic Policy Evaluation
- A policy evaluation conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising evidence across multiple studies of similar policies.
- Systematic Process Improvement
- A process improvement initiative conducted through a structured, replicable methodology, often applied consistently across many units within a health system.
- Systematic Quality Evaluation
- A quality evaluation conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising quality data across multiple studies or settings.
- Systematic Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation process conducted through a structured, replicable methodology, often applied consistently across many budget lines within a health system.
- Systematic Review
- A structured, comprehensive, reproducible approach to identifying, evaluating, and synthesising all available evidence relevant to a clearly defined question.
- Systematic Review HTA
- A systematic review conducted specifically to support a health technology assessment, focused on comparative clinical effectiveness and safety versus alternatives.
- Systematic Risk Evaluation
- A risk evaluation conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising risk data across multiple studies or populations.
- Systematic Sustainability Evaluation
- A sustainability evaluation conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising evidence across multiple programmes or health systems.
- Systematic System Analysis
- A system analysis conducted through a structured, replicable process, often synthesising performance data across multiple health systems or time periods.
- Systematic Utilisation ReviewSystematic Utilization Review
- A utilisation review conducted through a structured, replicable process, often applied consistently across all claims within a defined category.
- Systematic Value Measurement
- A value measurement conducted through a structured, replicable process, often applied consistently across many conditions within a health system.