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
- Advanced Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation approach applying sophisticated methods, such as mathematical optimisation or marginal analysis across linked budgets, to distribute limited resources.
- Applied Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation exercise conducted within a specific health system or programme rather than as a general methodological exercise.
C
- Clinical Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision focused on distributing clinical resources, such as specialist appointment slots or theatre time, among competing patient needs.
- Comparative Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation analysis that benchmarks spending patterns across different regions, programmes, or health systems rather than a single budget alone.
- Comprehensive Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation exercise considering spending across an entire health system's programme portfolio at once, rather than one narrow budget line.
- Contemporary Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision informed by current cost and outcome data rather than historical spending patterns that may no longer reflect needs.
- Cost-Effectiveness League Table
- A ranked list comparing incremental cost-effectiveness ratios across many separate studies, intended to help prioritise resource allocation across a health system.
E
- Economic Evaluation
- Economic evaluation compares the costs and outcomes of healthcare alternatives to inform decisions about value and limited resource allocation.
- Economic Policy
- A set of governmental choices affecting resource allocation, incentives, financing and economic activity.
- Emerging Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision addressing a newly identified need or technology for which established budget lines and precedents do not yet exist.
- Essential Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation exercise restricted to the core budget decisions needed to maintain minimum acceptable service levels.
- Evidence-Based Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision grounded in systematically collected cost and outcome data rather than historical precedent or political consideration alone.
- Experimental Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation approach tested under pilot conditions within a limited part of a health system before wider application.
F
- Foundational Resource Allocation
- The core approach to distributing limited health system resources across competing uses, using marginal analysis to shift resources toward higher-value activities.
- Fundamental Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation exercise limited to comparing two competing uses of a single, well-defined budget increment.
H
- Health Governance
- The processes and structures through which decisions about health policy, resource allocation, and service delivery are made and held accountable.
I
- Integer Programming Health
- An optimisation technique for resource allocation problems where decision variables must take whole-number values, such as the number of clinics to open.
- Integrated Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation exercise combining clinical, financial, and equity considerations into a single decision-making process rather than treating each separately.
- International Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation analysis comparing how different countries distribute health system resources across competing programmes and population needs.
L
- League Table Construction
- The process of assembling and ranking incremental cost-effectiveness ratios from multiple separate studies into a single comparative table to guide resource allocation.
- Linear Programming Health
- An optimisation technique identifying the resource allocation that maximises or minimises a linear objective subject to linear constraints, such as a fixed budget.
M
- Marginal Analysis
- An approach to resource allocation examining the additional cost and benefit of small changes in an activity's level, rather than its total cost and benefit.
- Marginal Analysis Method
- A technique for evaluating resource allocation decisions by comparing the additional cost and benefit of small changes in an activity, not its total cost.
- Modern Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision incorporating current data infrastructure and analytical tools, such as electronic budget modelling systems, into prioritisation.
N
- Novel Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation approach employing a prioritisation method not previously applied within a given health system or programme area.
P
- Pareto Efficiency
- A state of resource allocation in which no individual can be made better off without making at least one other individual worse off.
- Pareto Improvement
- A change in resource allocation that makes at least one individual better off without making any other individual worse off.
- Policy HTA Unit
- A function translating individual technology assessment findings into broader health policy, such as national treatment guidelines or resource allocation frameworks.
- Practical Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation exercise designed to produce a directly implementable budget decision, prioritising feasibility over analytical completeness.
- Priority Ranking
- The process of ordering competing programmes or technologies by relative value or urgency, guiding resource allocation within a fixed budget.
R
- Resource Allocation
- The process of distributing limited health system resources across competing uses to maximise health outcomes or other policy objectives.
S
- Standard Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision conducted using conventional, widely accepted budgeting and prioritisation methodology.
- Strategic Cost Analysis
- A cost analysis conducted to inform long-term resource allocation or planning decisions rather than an immediate budgetary question.
- Strategic Efficiency Study
- An efficiency study conducted to inform long-term capacity planning or resource allocation decisions rather than immediate operational management.
- Strategic Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation decision oriented toward long-term health system planning rather than a single, immediate budget adjustment.
- Systematic Resource Allocation
- A resource allocation process conducted through a structured, replicable methodology, often applied consistently across many budget lines within a health system.