Dictionary

C

Chemotherapy CostTermChemo Cost, Cytotoxic Treatment Cost

The total expense of cytotoxic cancer treatment, covering drug acquisition, administration, and management of associated side effects.

Chi-Square DistributionConceptChi-Squared Distribution, Chi2 Distribution

The chi-square distribution describes a sum of squared independent standard normals and is the reference for likelihood ratio, heterogeneity and fit tests.

Children's HospitalTermPaediatric Hospital, Children's Medical Centre

A specialist facility dedicated to medical care for infants, children, and adolescents, staffed for the distinct needs of paediatric patients.

Choice Architecture InterventionConceptChoice Architecture, Nudge Design

A choice architecture intervention changes how health options are set out, such as defaults, order or placement, to shift choices without removing options.

Choice Experiment DesignConceptDCE Design, Stated Choice Design

Choice experiment design is the plan of attributes, levels and choice tasks in a DCE, which fixes the health preference effects that can be estimated.

Choice Model EstimateConceptDCE Estimate, Preference Parameter Estimate

Choice model estimate is a preference weight, or a derived value such as willingness to pay, from a choice model fitted to stated or revealed choices.

Choice OverloadConceptOverchoice, Decision Paralysis

Choice overload is the effect in which a large or complex set of options can lead people to defer a choice or regret it, as in health insurance markets.

Choice SetConceptChoice Task Set, Alternative Set

The group of alternatives, typically hypothetical options and sometimes a status quo, presented to a respondent in a single choice task.

Choice TheoryConceptRational Choice Model, Consumer Preference Theory

Choice theory is the economic theory of how people choose among options given preferences and limited resources, underpinning demand and health valuation.

Choice-Based ConjointConceptCBC, Discrete Choice Conjoint

Choice-based conjoint (CBC) is conjoint analysis in which patients or others choose between sets of described treatments or services rather than rate them.

Choice-Based MethodTermChoice-Based Valuation, Preference Elicitation Choice

A health state valuation technique in which respondents choose between alternative states or gambles, such as the standard gamble or time trade-off.

Cholesky DecompositionConceptCholesky Factorisation

Cholesky decomposition factorises a positive-definite covariance matrix into a triangular matrix and its transpose, used to sample correlated PSA inputs.

Choosing WiselyConceptLow-Value Care Reduction, Overuse Reduction Initiative

Choosing Wisely is a clinician-led campaign in which specialty societies list overused tests and treatments that doctors and patients should question.

Chronic Disease EconomicsTermChronic Illness Economics, NCD Economics, Autoimmune Disease Economics, Autoimmune Economics, Economics of Autoimmune Disease, Metabolic Disease Economics, Metabolic Syndrome Economics, Endocrine Disease Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to long-lasting, non-communicable conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, typically using long time horizons.

Chronic Disease EpidemiologyTermNCD Epidemiology, Chronic Condition Epidemiology

A branch of epidemiology studying the distribution, risk factors, and natural history of long-lasting, non-communicable conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Chronic Kidney DiseaseTermCKD, Chronic Renal Disease

A condition involving gradual loss of kidney function over time, classified into severity stages, potentially progressing to kidney failure if unmanaged.

CHU9DConceptChild Health Utility 9D, CHU-9D, Child Health Utility Index 9D

CHU9D (Child Health Utility 9D) is a generic preference-based measure of children's health-related quality of life, used to calculate paediatric QALYs.

Citation TrackingTermCitation Chasing, Reference Tracking

A literature search technique identifying further relevant studies by examining a key paper's reference list or later papers that cite it.

Citizen JuryConceptCitizens' Jury, Citizen Panel

A citizen jury is a small, randomly selected group of the public who hear expert evidence on a health policy question, deliberate and make recommendations.

Civil Monetary PenaltyTermCMP, Civil Money Penalty

A financial penalty imposed by a government agency on an organisation found to have violated healthcare laws, distinct from criminal prosecution.

CLABSI RateTermCentral Line Infection Rate, CLABSI Incidence

A measure of the frequency of central line-associated bloodstream infections within a facility, tracking infection prevention performance for catheter care.

ClaimTermReimbursement Request, Billing Submission

A formal request submitted by a provider or patient to an insurer seeking payment for covered healthcare services rendered.

Claim DenialTermDenied Claim, Payment Refusal

A decision by an insurer to refuse payment for a submitted claim, typically because the service was deemed not covered or not necessary.

Claims AdjudicationConceptClaim Adjudication, Claim Review

Claims adjudication is a payer's review of a healthcare claim to decide whether to pay it in full, in part or not at all, and what the patient owes.

Claims DataConceptBilling Data, Payer Claims Records

Claims data are records providers submit to insurers or public payers to be paid, reused in health economics to measure resource use, costs and outcomes.

Claims DatabaseTermClaims Data Warehouse, Insurance Claims Repository

A large, structured collection of insurance claims data assembled from one or more payers, used to study healthcare utilisation and cost.

Claims ProcessingTermClaim Handling, Claim Adjudication Workflow

The overall administrative workflow through which a healthcare claim moves from submission through review, adjudication, and final payment or denial.

Classification AccuracyConceptCorrectness Rate, Hit Rate

Classification accuracy is the proportion of cases a test, coder or prediction rule assigns to the correct category, judged against a reference standard.

Classification MethodsConceptClassification Techniques, Classifier Methods

Classification methods are statistical and machine learning techniques that assign patients or other cases to predefined classes, such as risk groups.

ClawbackConceptRepayment Mechanism, Spending Recoupment, Payback, Revenue Return

Clawback is a payment that medicine manufacturers return to a payer when total public spending on medicines exceeds an agreed cap.

Clean ClaimTermComplete Claim, Error-Free Claim

A claim submitted with all required information correctly completed, allowing it to be processed and paid without needing further documentation.

Clinical AlertConceptClinical Warning, CDS Alert

A clinical alert is an automated message in a health record or ordering system warning a clinician of a patient-specific risk, such as a drug interaction.

Clinical AlgorithmConceptClinical Decision Algorithm, Care Algorithm

A clinical algorithm is a set of explicit step-by-step rules, drawn as a flowchart or run in software, that sets the next test or treatment for a patient.

Clinical Algorithm DevelopmentConceptCare-Pathway Authoring, Structured Pathway Creation

Clinical algorithm development is building a step-by-step diagnosis or treatment pathway from evidence review, consensus and often economic evaluation.

Clinical AnalyticsConceptHealthcare Analytics, Clinical Data Analytics

Clinical analytics is the analysis of patient-level clinical data, such as electronic health records, to describe care, predict risk and inform decisions.

Clinical AuditConceptPractice Audit, Care Audit

Clinical audit is a quality improvement cycle that checks care against explicit evidence-based standards, acts on gaps and re-measures to confirm change.

Clinical BenefitTermTherapeutic Benefit, Patient Benefit

A favourable effect of an intervention on how a patient feels, functions or survives relative to an appropriate comparator.

Clinical Benefit CriterionTermClinical Benefit Standard, Benefit Threshold Criterion

A standard judging whether a treatment provides sufficient clinical benefit, absolute or relative, to warrant a positive funding recommendation.

Clinical Benefit RateConceptCBR

Clinical benefit rate (CBR) is the share of cancer trial patients with a complete or partial response, or stable disease lasting a set minimum time.

Clinical Decision AnalysisConceptCDA, Clinical Decision Modelling

Clinical decision analysis is a method for choosing a patient's test or treatment by combining outcome probabilities and utilities in a decision tree.

Clinical Decision SupportConceptCDS, CDSS

Clinical decision support (CDS) is software that matches a patient's data to clinical knowledge and gives clinicians tailored advice at the point of care.

Clinical Development PlanConceptCDP, Development Programme

A clinical development plan is a sponsor's ordered programme of clinical trials, with decision points, to support marketing approval and often HTA.

Clinical Effectiveness ReviewConceptClinical Evidence Review, Efficacy Review

Clinical effectiveness review is the part of an HTA that systematically reviews evidence on a technology's benefits and harms compared with alternatives.

Clinical EfficiencyConceptCare Efficiency, Clinical Resource Efficiency

Clinical efficiency is the extent to which clinicians and teams achieve good patient outcomes with the least staff time, tests, drugs and bed-days.

Clinical EndpointConceptClinical Outcome Endpoint, Trial Endpoint

A clinical endpoint is a predefined trial outcome for judging a treatment; strictly, one directly measuring how a patient feels, functions or survives.

Clinical EpidemiologyConceptClinical Epi, Patient-Oriented Epidemiology

Clinical epidemiology applies epidemiology to patients, measuring test accuracy, prognosis and treatment effects for clinical and economic decisions.

Clinical EvidenceConceptClinical Research Evidence, Medical Evidence

Clinical evidence is data from trials and observational studies on an intervention's benefits and harms, used in HTA and economic evaluation.

Clinical ExpertTermClinical Specialist, Subject Clinician

A practicing clinician with specialised experience treating a condition, invited to contribute professional perspective to an assessment process.

Clinical Expert ReviewTermClinical Validation Review, Clinician Review

A model validation stage in which practising clinicians examine a model's structure and assumptions to check they reflect real clinical practice.

Clinical Expert StatementTermClinical Expert Submission, Expert Clinical Testimony

A formal submission from a practising clinician on a technology under assessment, addressing its place in current practice and likely impact.