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.
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- 15D15-Dimensional Instrument, 15-D
- A generic, multi-attribute quality of life instrument measuring fifteen health dimensions, each scored on five levels, combined into a single utility index.
A
- AQoLAssessment of Quality of Life
- A multi-attribute utility instrument, the Assessment of Quality of Life, converting responses across several dimensions into a single score anchored between death and full health.
B
- Biomarker DevelopmentBiomarker Discovery, Biomarker Validation
- The process of identifying, validating, and establishing the clinical utility of a biological indicator used to diagnose disease or predict treatment response.
C
- Choice ExperimentDiscrete Choice Experiment, DCE
- A choice experiment is a stated-preference method in which respondents choose among systematically varied alternatives, allowing analysts to estimate the relative value of attributes from observed choice patterns under a specified random-utility model.
- Clinical UtilityClinical Usefulness, Practical Utility
- The degree to which using a test, biomarker, or intervention meaningfully improves patient outcomes in actual practice, beyond mere analytical accuracy.
- Compensating VariationCV, Compensating Surplus
- A monetary measure of the change in wellbeing from a price or policy change, the sum needed after the change to restore original utility.
- Cost per QALYCost/QALY, Cost per Quality-Adjusted Life Year
- A measure of value for money in cost-utility analysis, calculated as incremental cost divided by the quality-adjusted life years gained relative to a comparator.
- Cost per QALY ThresholdQALY Threshold, Threshold per QALY
- The maximum cost per quality-adjusted life year a health system is willing to pay for a health gain, used as the decision criterion in cost-utility analysis.
- Cost-Utility AnalysisCUA, QALY-Based Cost-Effectiveness
- Cost-utility analysis is a full economic evaluation that compares healthcare alternatives by relating differences in their costs to differences in preference-weighted health outcomes, most commonly quality-adjusted life years.
- Country-Specific Value SetNational Value Set, Country Tariff
- A set of utility weights derived from a representative sample of a particular country's population, used to convert instrument responses into a utility score.
D
- Decision UtilityDecision-Based Utility, Anticipated Utility
- The value an individual assigns to an outcome at the moment of choosing it, based on anticipated experience, unlike experienced utility.
- Direct ElicitationDirect Valuation, First-Hand State Valuation, Direct Utility Assessment
- A health state valuation approach in which respondents value a state directly, using techniques such as the standard gamble or time trade-off.
- DisutilityUtility Loss, Negative Utility
- The reduction in utility from experiencing a health state worse than full health, expressed as a value below one on the utility scale.
E
- EQ-5DEuroQol 5D, EQ5D
- A generic instrument measuring health-related quality of life across five dimensions, including mobility, self-care, and pain, widely used to generate cost-utility values.
- Expected UtilityEU, Utility Under Uncertainty
- Expected utility is the probability-weighted average of the utilities assigned to an uncertain option's possible outcomes, used to rank choices under risk when preferences satisfy the required axioms.
- Experienced UtilityHedonic Utility, Lived Utility
- The actual hedonic experience, such as pleasure or suffering, undergone while in a health state, unlike the decision utility anticipated in advance.
F
- Futile CareNon-Beneficial Treatment, Futility of Care
- Medical treatment judged unlikely to produce meaningful clinical benefit despite continuing to be administered, raising ethical and resource concerns.
- Futility AnalysisFutility Stopping Analysis, Interim Futility Check
- A futility analysis assesses interim trial evidence against a prespecified rule to judge whether continuing is sufficiently likely to meet the study's final objective.
H
- Health State Utility ValueHSUV, Health State Utility
- A health state utility value, or HSU value, is a preference-based numerical weight assigned to a health state for use in economic evaluation.
- Health State ValuationState Valuation, Utility Elicitation
- Health state valuation is the elicitation and modelling of preferences for defined states of health to assign scores on a scale anchored by dead and full health for use in economic evaluation and related decisions.
- Healthy Year EquivalentHYE, Lifetime Health Equivalent
- An alternative to the QALY deriving its valuations directly from a sequence of health states over a lifetime, rather than combining separate utility values.
- HUIHealth Utilities Index
- An abbreviation for the Health Utilities Index, a family of generic, multi-attribute health status classification systems producing a single utility value.
I
- Incremental Cost-Utility RatioICUR
- The difference in cost between two interventions divided by the difference in quality-adjusted life years they produce.
- Index Instrument
- A health status questionnaire combining responses across dimensions into a single summary utility score, unlike a profile instrument reporting each dimension separately.
- Index-Based Measure
- A health outcome measure producing a single summary utility score by combining information across multiple dimensions, rather than reporting each separately.
- Indirect Elicitation
- A health state valuation approach in which a descriptive questionnaire's responses are converted into a utility value using a pre-existing scoring algorithm.
- Indirect Utility Assessment
- The process of obtaining a health state utility value by applying a scoring algorithm from a prior valuation study to a respondent's questionnaire answers.
- Interim AnalysisInterim Look, Mid-Trial Analysis
- A planned analysis of trial data conducted before final completion, typically to assess safety, efficacy, or futility and inform continuation decisions.
M
- Mapping FunctionMapping Algorithm, Crosswalk Function, Transfer-to-Utility Function
- The specific statistical relationship, typically estimated through regression, used within a mapping algorithm to convert a health status score into a predicted utility value.
- Medical FutilityClinical Futility, Treatment Futility
- A judgement that a proposed treatment is unlikely to produce meaningful clinical benefit, raising ethical questions about whether it should continue.
- Multi-Attribute UtilityMAUT, Multiattribute Value Theory
- A utility value derived by combining preference weights across several distinct attributes of an outcome into a single overall measure.
N
- Net BenefitDecision-Curve Utility, Clinical Usefulness Measure
- A summary measure, in evaluating prediction models, combining the benefit of correctly identifying an outcome against the harm of unnecessary treatment, at a given threshold.
P
- Parameter InputModel Input Value, Entered Value
- A specific numerical value or probability distribution entered into a decision-analytic model to represent a required clinical, cost, or utility quantity.
- Part-Worth UtilityAttribute-Level Utility, Conjoint Part-Worth
- The contribution of a single attribute level to an individual's overall utility for a good, estimated from a conjoint or choice experiment.
- Patent ExaminationPatent Review, Patent Prosecution
- The formal review process by a patent office to determine whether a patent application meets requirements for novelty, non-obviousness, and utility.
- PayoffGame Reward, Strategy Outcome
- The value, such as cost, outcome, or utility, associated with a particular pathway or outcome within a decision-analytic or game-theoretic model.
- Preference-Based MeasurePreference-Weighted Measure, Preference-Elicited Instrument
- A health status instrument whose scoring derives from a formal preference elicitation exercise, so its scores can be used directly as utility values for QALYs.
Q
- QALY Calculation MethodQALY Estimation, QALY Derivation
- The process of computing quality-adjusted life years by multiplying time spent in a health state by its utility value, then summing across states.
- Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY)QALY, Quality-Adjusted Life-Year
- A quality-adjusted life year combines time lived with preference-based health-state values so that one year at utility 1 represents one QALY, while periods in poorer health contribute proportionately less—or negatively where the applicable value set permits states valued below dead.
R
- Rational ChoiceRational Agent Model, Utility Maximisation Assumption
- A model of decision-making in which individuals are assumed to select the option that maximises their expected utility given preferences and information.
- Remembered UtilityRecalled Utility, Retrospective Utility
- The retrospective evaluation a person gives of a past experience or health state, which can differ from the utility actually experienced at the time.
S
- Single Attribute UtilitySingle-Dimension Utility, One-Attribute Utility
- A utility value derived from a single dimension of health or outcome, unlike multi-attribute utility, which integrates several dimensions.
T
- Telemedicine UtilityTelemedicine Value, Remote-Care Utility
- An assessment of the clinical and economic value of delivering healthcare remotely, covering access, travel burden, and comparative effectiveness against in-person care.
U
- UtilityPreference Satisfaction, Wellbeing Measure
- A numerical representation of the satisfaction, wellbeing, or preference an individual derives from a particular outcome, state, or good.
- Utility FunctionPreference Function, Utility Representation
- A mathematical representation of preferences that assigns a numerical value to each possible outcome, so higher-utility outcomes are preferred.
- Utility MaximisationUtility Maximization, Preference Optimisation
- The behavioural assumption that individuals make choices intended to achieve the highest possible satisfaction given their preferences and constraints.
- Utility StructureUtility Framework, Utility Configuration
- The way a decision-analytic model assigns health state utility values, including adjustments for factors such as age or treatment-related adverse events.
- Utility WeightQALY Weight, Health-State Weight
- A numerical value representing the relative desirability of a specific health state, used to weight time in that state for QALYs.
- Utility-Based MeasureHealth Utility Instrument, Preference-Based HRQoL Tool
- A health outcome measure whose scores derive from a formal preference elicitation process and can be used directly to weight time for QALYs.
V
- Value SetUtility Tariff, Preference Tariff
- The complete collection of utility weights from a population valuation study, used to convert every combination of instrument responses into a utility score.