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
- Actual CostRealised Cost, Realized Cost, Observed Cost, Incurred Cost
- The real, measured expense incurred delivering a healthcare service, based on observed resource use and prices, unlike a standard or estimated cost.
- Ambulatory Payment ClassificationAPC, Outpatient Payment Grouping
- A US Medicare outpatient classification system grouping clinically similar services expected to require similar resource use into a common payment category.
C
- Clinical Trial DataTrial Data, RCT Data
- Data collected within a clinical trial's structured framework, including detailed outcome, adverse event, and often resource use measurements, under controlled conditions.
- Cost IdentificationCost Categorisation, Cost Inclusion Decision
- The process of determining which categories of resource use should be included in an economic evaluation before quantities and unit costs are measured.
- Cost ValuationValuation of Costs, Resource Valuation, Monetary Valuation of Resource Use, Costing Valuation
- Cost valuation is the assignment of monetary values to measured resource use in accordance with a specified perspective, setting, price year, and decision purpose.
- Cost-of-Illness StudyCOI Study, Burden of Disease Costing
- A cost-of-illness study is a descriptive economic analysis that identifies, measures and values the healthcare resource use, patient and caregiver costs, productivity losses and other economic consequences attributable to a disease, injury or risk factor in a defined population and period.
E
- Economic Data HealthHealth Economic Data, Cost and Resource Data
- Data specifically capturing the costs, resource use, and financial aspects of healthcare delivery, distinct from clinical outcome data.
- Economic EvidenceCost-Effectiveness Evidence, Value Evidence
- Data and analysis addressing the costs, resource use, and cost-effectiveness of health interventions, distinct from clinical evidence on safety and efficacy alone.
- EfficiencyProductive Resource Use, Value from Resources
- Efficiency describes how well scarce resources are used to produce valued outputs or outcomes, including whether resources are used without avoidable waste and whether they are allocated among competing uses in a way that best advances stated objectives.
- Efficiency IndexEfficiency Score, Relative Efficiency Measure
- An efficiency index is a specified numerical measure that compares a unit’s resource use and valued output with a defined benchmark or estimated production frontier.
L
- Levels of CareCare Levels, Tiers of Care
- In health systems, the tiers at which care is organised and accessed, from primary through secondary and tertiary to quaternary care, structuring referral pathways and resource use.
R
- Relative Value UnitRVU, Service Value Unit
- A relative value unit is a standardized weight assigned to a covered service component to represent its relative resource use within the US Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
- Resource IdentificationResource Enumeration, Cost Item Identification
- The process of determining which categories of resource use, such as staff time and supplies, are relevant when costing an intervention.
- Resource UseResource Consumption, Service Use Volume
- The physical quantities of inputs, such as staff time, equipment, and supplies, consumed in delivering a healthcare intervention.
- Resource ValuationInput Valuation, Resource Pricing
- The process of assigning a monetary value to a measured quantity of resource use, typically by multiplying it by a unit cost.
S
- Scheduling ManagementAppointment Scheduling, Schedule Coordination
- The processes coordinating the timing of appointments, procedures, and staff assignments, optimising resource use while minimising patient wait times.
- Sustainability EvaluationSustainability Assessment
- An assessment of whether the resource use of a programme can be maintained over time without compromising future capacity.