Dictionary

E

Egalitarian WelfareTermPrioritarian Welfare, Worst-Off Priority

Egalitarian welfare is a social welfare view that values equal distribution of health or well-being, accepting some loss of total gain for less inequality.

Egger TestConceptEgger Regression Test, Funnel-Plot Asymmetry Test

A statistical test for funnel plot asymmetry, and by extension potential publication bias, using regression of effect estimates against standard errors.

Ego Depletion ConceptTermEgo Depletion Theory, Self-Control Depletion

A theory that self-control draws on a limited psychological resource that depletes with repeated use, reducing further self-regulation.

EigenvalueConceptCharacteristic Root, Latent Root

An eigenvalue describes how a matrix scales a particular direction without changing that direction.

Elastic DemandConceptPrice-Sensitive Demand, Responsive Demand

A condition in which quantity demanded changes proportionally more than a given price change, indicating consumers are relatively sensitive to price.

ElasticityTermResponsiveness Measure, Economic Sensitivity

A measure of how strongly one economic quantity responds to a change in another, such as the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price or income.

Electronic Health RecordConceptEHR, Digital Patient Record

A digital, longitudinal record of a person’s health information maintained for care and, where permitted, shared or reused across authorised settings and purposes.

Electronic Medical RecordTermEMR, Digital Medical Chart

A digital version of a patient's medical chart maintained within a single healthcare organisation, containing clinical history, diagnoses, and medications.

Electronic Medical Record DataTermEMR Data, Clinical Record Data

Clinical information extracted from digital medical record systems, capturing patient-level diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes as recorded during routine care.

Electronic PrescribingTermE-Prescribing, Electronic Prescription Transmission

A system letting providers electronically create and transmit prescriptions directly to a pharmacy, rather than relying on handwritten prescriptions.

Elementary EffectTermEE Measure, Morris Sensitivity Measure

A measure in the Morris method of global sensitivity analysis, the change in output from a small, discrete change in one input.

Eligibility DesignTermEligibility Criteria Design, Qualification Rules, Entitlement Definition, Benefit Entitlement, Right-to-Benefit Criteria

The specific criteria an insurance plan or public programme establishes to determine who qualifies for coverage, such as income or age.

Eligible PopulationTermQualifying Population, Eligible Cohort

The subgroup of patients who meet the clinical or administrative criteria for receiving a given treatment.

EMATermEuropean Medicines Agency, EU Medicines Regulator

The European Medicines Agency, responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision, and safety monitoring of medicines within the European Union.

Emancipated MinorTermLegally Independent Minor, Self-Consenting Minor

A legal status granting an individual below the age of majority the authority to make their own decisions, including healthcare, independent of parental consent.

Embedding EffectTermScope Insensitivity, Part-Whole Bias

A phenomenon in which a stated value fails to rise proportionally, or at all, as the scope of the good being valued expands.

Emergency CareTermAcute Emergency Treatment, Emergency Department Care

Immediate medical treatment addressing an acute, potentially life-threatening condition, typically delivered in a hospital emergency department.

Emergency Care CostTermED Cost, Emergency Treatment Expense

The expense of treatment provided in an emergency department or urgent care setting, typically higher per visit than equivalent primary care.

Emergency Department ManagementTermED Management, Emergency Flow Management

The operational strategies used to organise and optimise care delivery within a hospital emergency department, covering triage and patient flow.

Emergency ExceptionTermEmergency Consent Exception, Implied Emergency Consent

An exception to standard consent requirements, permitting providers to treat a patient facing an immediate, life-threatening emergency without prior consent.

Emergency PolicyTermEmergency Preparedness Policy, Health Crisis Policy

Government or health system policy governing preparedness for and response to public health emergencies, including stockpiling and surge capacity planning.

Emergency Research WaiverTermException from Informed Consent, Deferred-Consent Waiver

A regulatory provision permitting research without prospective consent in narrowly defined emergencies where the affected individual cannot consent and no representative is available.

Emergency VisitsTermED Visits, Emergency Encounters

The total number of patient encounters within a hospital emergency department over a defined period, a key emergency utilisation measure.

Emerging TechnologyTermEarly-Stage Technology, Nascent Technology, Emerging Health Technology

A technology in an early development or adoption stage, not yet standard practice, often still generating evidence for a full assessment.

Emotional FunctionTermAffective Function

A dimension of health-related quality of life capturing a person's emotional state, including anxiety, sadness, or irritability tied to their condition.

Emotional WellbeingTermEmotional Well-Being, Psychological Wellbeing

A broader construct than emotional function, covering a person's overall sense of psychological and emotional health within a quality of life assessment.

Empiric TherapyTermEmpirical Therapy, Presumptive Treatment

Treatment started based on clinical judgement and the most likely diagnosis before definitive confirmation, common when delaying treatment could be harmful.

Employee ContributionTermEmployee Premium Share, Worker Contribution

The portion of health insurance premium costs an employee pays directly, distinct from the portion covered by their employer.

Employer ContributionTermEmployer Premium Share, Employer-Paid Portion

The portion of health insurance premium costs an employer pays on behalf of an employee within an employer-sponsored arrangement.

Employer MandateTermEmployer Coverage Requirement, Play-or-Pay Mandate

A legal requirement that employers of a certain size offer qualifying health insurance to employees, or face a financial penalty.

Employer PerspectiveTermEmployer Viewpoint, Employer Cost Perspective

An analytic viewpoint including only costs and outcomes relevant to an employer, such as premium contributions and productivity losses from absenteeism.

EmulatorTermFast Surrogate, Trained Approximation Model, Surrogate Model, Surrogate-Based Model, Reduced-Order Model

A statistical model trained to approximate a more computationally expensive simulation model's input-output relationship, running much faster than the original.

ENBS CalculationConceptENBS Computation, Net Sampling Benefit

The process of computing the expected net benefit of sampling, the expected value of sample information from a study minus its expected cost.

End-of-Life CostTermTerminal-Phase Cost, Last-Year-of-Life Cost

Healthcare expenditure incurred during the final period of a patient's life, often a disproportionately large share of total lifetime healthcare costs.

End-of-Life CriteriaTermEnd-of-Life Modifier, Terminal-Illness Criteria

Special decision criteria applied by some health technology assessment bodies allowing a higher cost-effectiveness threshold for treatments of conditions with short life expectancy.

End-Stage Renal DiseaseTermESRD, End-Stage Kidney Disease

The most severe stage of chronic kidney disease, where kidney function has declined to require dialysis or transplantation to sustain life.

EndemicTermBaseline Disease Presence, Stable Prevalence Disease

A disease consistently present within a geographic area at a generally predictable, stable baseline level, unlike an epidemic's sudden increase.

Endowment Effect ConceptTermEndowment Effect, Divestiture Aversion

The tendency to value goods or outcomes already owned more highly than identical items not yet owned.

Energy LevelTermVitality, Perceived Energy

A clinical outcome measure capturing a patient's perceived vitality, often assessed as a subdomain within broader quality of life or fatigue instruments.

EnrollmentTermTrial Enrolment, Participant Registration

The process of recruiting and formally registering participants into a trial after confirming they meet the study's eligibility criteria.

Enrollment DesignTermEnrolment Design, Sign-Up Rules

The processes and rules governing how and when individuals can sign up for a plan, including open enrolment periods and defaults.

Entity DefinitionTermDES Entity Specification, Entity Specification

The specification of the individual units, such as patients, that flow through and interact with a discrete event simulation.

Environmental DataTermEnvironmental Health Data, Physical-Environment Data

Data capturing physical environment characteristics, such as air quality or water contamination levels, used to study their relationship with health outcomes.

Environmental EpidemiologyTermEnvironmental Epi, Exposure Epidemiology

A branch of epidemiology studying how physical environment exposures, such as air pollution, affect human health outcomes within populations.

Environmental Health PolicyTermEnvironmental Health Regulation, Environmental Policy for Health

Government policy addressing health risks from environmental exposures, such as air pollution or contaminated water, covering regulatory standards and remediation.

EORTC QLQ-C30ConceptQLQ-C30, EORTC Core Quality of Life Questionnaire, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30

EORTC QLQ-C30 is the 30-item core cancer quality of life questionnaire, whose answers can be mapped to EQ-5D or scored with the QLU-C10D for QALYs.

EORTC QLU-C10DConceptQLU-C10D, EORTC Quality of Life Utility Measure-Core 10 Dimensions, EORTC Quality of Life Utility-Core 10 Dimensions

EORTC QLU-C10D is a cancer-specific preference-based measure that scores 13 QLQ-C30 items with national value sets to give utilities for QALYs.

EPDSConceptEdinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Edinburgh Depression Scale

EPDS is a ten-item self-report scale scored 0 to 30 that screens for depression in pregnancy and after birth, used in trials and screening models.

EpidemicTermDisease Outbreak, Excess Case Occurrence

An occurrence of disease cases clearly in excess of what would normally be expected within a community over a defined period.

EpidemiologyTermEpidemiological Science, Study of Disease Distribution

The study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states within specified populations, and applying that knowledge to control health problems.