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
- Anchor-Based MIDAnchor Method, External Anchor Approach
- An approach to estimating the minimal important difference by comparing changes in an outcome measure against an external anchor, such as a patient's global rating.
- Anxiety SymptomsAnxiety Scale, Anxiety Symptom Measure
- A clinical outcome measure capturing the presence and severity of anxiety-related symptoms, commonly assessed using standardised, validated patient questionnaires.
B
- Between-Subject VariationBetween-Subjects Variation, Inter-Individual Variation
- The variability in an outcome measure observed across different individuals in a study, unlike within-subject variation in a single person's repeated measurements.
- Biochemical ResponseBiochemical Marker Response, Laboratory Response
- A clinical outcome measure indicating a change in a laboratory-measured biochemical marker, such as a hormone or enzyme level, following treatment.
- Biomarker EndpointBiomarker-Based Endpoint, Biological Endpoint
- An outcome measure based on a biological indicator, such as a lab test or imaging finding, used to assess a treatment's effect on physiology.
- Biomarker OutcomeBiomarker-Based Outcome, Biological Outcome Measure
- A trial outcome measure based on a biological indicator, such as a laboratory value or imaging finding, assessing a treatment's physiological effect.
C
- Cardiac ResponseCardiac Functional Response, Ejection Fraction Response
- A clinical outcome measure indicating a change in cardiac function or structure, such as ejection fraction, used to assess cardiovascular treatment effect.
- Case-Mix AdjustmentCasemix Adjustment, Case-Mix Correction
- A statistical method accounting for differences in patient population complexity when comparing cost or outcome measures across different providers.
- Clinical Benefit RateClinical Benefit Ratio, Tumour Benefit Rate
- A cancer outcome measure combining complete response, partial response, and stable disease rates, giving a broader benefit picture than response rate alone.
- Clinical EndpointClinical Outcome Endpoint, Trial Endpoint
- A specific, predefined outcome measure used to assess treatment effect in a trial, ranging from survival to a surrogate biomarker.
- Clinical MeaningfulnessClinical Importance, Patient-Meaningful Change
- The degree to which a change in an outcome measure represents a genuinely important difference to patients, unlike a merely statistically detectable one.
- Contemporary Value Measurement
- A value measurement built around current outcome measures and cost data rather than historical benchmarks that may no longer reflect care standards.
- Convenience Outcome
- A clinical outcome measure capturing the ease or burden of a treatment's administration, such as dosing frequency, distinct from its clinical efficacy.
D
- Depression Symptoms
- A clinical outcome measure capturing the presence and severity of depression-related symptoms, commonly assessed using standardised, validated patient questionnaires.
- Digital Outcome
- A health or economic outcome measure specifically relevant to assessing a digital health technology's impact, including engagement or retention rates.
- Disease Control Rate
- A cancer outcome measure combining complete response, partial response, and stable disease rates, characterising the proportion whose disease did not progress.
- Distress
- A clinical outcome measure capturing overall emotional suffering or discomfort, often assessed as broader than specific anxiety or depression symptoms alone.
E
- Effectiveness Outcome
- A clinical outcome measured under real-world, routine practice conditions, reflecting how a treatment performs across a diverse patient population.
- Efficacy Outcome
- A clinical outcome measured under the controlled, often idealised conditions of a trial, representing the maximum potential benefit achievable.
- Emerging Outcome Assessment
- An outcome assessment applied to a new area of care, such as a novel treatment modality, without established outcome measures.
- Energy Level
- A clinical outcome measure capturing a patient's perceived vitality, often assessed as a subdomain within broader quality of life or fatigue instruments.
- Event-Free Survival
- A time-to-event outcome measured from treatment start until any of a predefined set of significant events, such as progression or death, whichever comes first.
- Experimental Outcome Assessment
- An outcome assessment carried out under controlled or pilot conditions to test a new outcome measure before wider adoption.
F
- Fatigue
- A clinical outcome measure capturing a patient's subjective tiredness or lack of energy, commonly assessed using standardised, validated fatigue-specific instruments.
- Final Outcome
- A clinical outcome measure directly reflecting a patient's health status or survival, such as death, unlike a surrogate or intermediate outcome.
G
- Generic Measure
- A health outcome measure applicable across different diseases and populations, unlike a condition-specific measure tailored to one disease.
H
- Health-Adjusted Life YearHALY
- A general term for outcome measures, including the QALY and DALY, combining length of life with a weighting for quality or disability into one unit.
- Hepatic Response
- A biomarker-based outcome measure indicating a change in liver function or structure, such as normalised liver enzymes, following treatment.
I
- Imaging Outcome
- A clinical outcome measure based on findings from radiological imaging, such as tumour size on a scan, assessing disease status or response.
- Immunological Response
- A biomarker-based outcome measure indicating a change in immune system function or activity, such as antibody levels, following treatment.
- Index-Based Measure
- A health outcome measure producing a single summary utility score by combining information across multiple dimensions, rather than reporting each separately.
- Interpretability Assessment
- An evaluation of whether an outcome measure's numerical scores can be meaningfully understood in terms of real-world clinical significance.
M
- Minimal Clinically Important Difference
- The smallest change in an outcome measure that patients or clinicians would consider meaningful, used to judge whether a statistically significant result matters clinically.
- Minimal Important Difference
- The smallest change in a health outcome measure a patient would perceive as beneficial, or that would prompt a clinician to change management.
N
- Neurological Response
- A biomarker or clinical outcome measure indicating a change in neurological function or structure, such as improved neurological examination or imaging findings.
O
- Organ Response
- A biomarker-based outcome measure indicating improvement in a specific organ's function or structure affected by disease, requiring disease-specific validated criteria.
- Outcome Measure
- A metric assessing the actual results of healthcare, such as survival or functional status, unlike measures of structural resources or processes.
P
- Patient-Centred OutcomePatient-Centered Outcome
- A health outcome measure specifically identified as important to patients themselves, rather than selected primarily for clinical or biomarker significance.
- Primary Endpoint
- The main outcome measure a trial is specifically designed and statistically powered to assess, the principal basis for judging its success.
- Profile-Based Measure
- A health outcome measure reporting separate scores across multiple dimensions rather than combining them into a single index value.
- PROM
- An abbreviation for patient-reported outcome measure, any standardised instrument capturing a patient's own report of health status without clinical interpretation.
Q
- Quality-Adjusted Time Without Symptoms
- An oncology outcome measure, Q-TWiST, dividing survival into phases, such as toxicity, symptom-free time, and time after relapse, each weighted by quality of life.
R
- Relevance Assessment
- An evaluation of whether a model's structure, population, and outcome measures are appropriate for the specific decision question and audience it addresses.
- Renal Response
- A biomarker-based outcome measure indicating improvement in kidney function, such as reduced proteinuria or stabilised glomerular filtration rate.
- Responder Definition
- The specific threshold change in an outcome measure used to classify a patient as having experienced a meaningful clinical improvement.
- Responsiveness
- The ability of a health outcome measure to detect a clinically meaningful change in health status over time when one has genuinely occurred.
- Responsiveness Assessment
- An evaluation of an outcome measure's ability to detect a clinically meaningful change in a patient's condition over time.
- Run Chart Analysis
- The process of interpreting a run chart to identify meaningful trends or patterns in a process or outcome measure over time.
S
- Safety Outcome
- A clinical outcome measure assessing the occurrence, severity, and nature of adverse effects associated with a treatment.
- Secondary Endpoint
- An outcome measure assessed within a trial that provides supportive evidence about a treatment's effects, alongside the trial's primary endpoint.