Dictionary

E

Episode CostTermCost per Episode, Care-Episode Expense

The total expense of a defined clinical episode, such as a hospital admission, from its beginning through resolution.

Episode-Based PaymentTermBundled Episode Reimbursement, Care-Episode Reimbursement, Episode Payment, Episode Reimbursement, Per-Episode Bundled Payment

A methodology reimbursing a single, comprehensive amount for all care within a defined clinical episode, incentivising efficient, coordinated care.

EQ-5DTermEuroQol 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.

EQ-5D-3LTermEQ-5D-3-Level, Three-Level EQ-5D

The original three-level version of the EQ-5D, scoring each of the five health dimensions as no problems, some problems, or extreme problems.

EQ-5D-3L Value SetConceptEQ-5D-3L Tariff, Three-Level EQ-5D Value Set

EQ-5D-3L value sets are utility weights, elicited from a population's health state valuations, that score all 243 EQ-5D-3L states for QALY calculation.

EQ-5D-5LTermEQ-5D-5-Level, Five-Level EQ-5D

An extended version of the EQ-5D scoring each health dimension using five severity levels rather than three, improving sensitivity to smaller changes.

EQ-5D-5L Value SetConceptEQ-5D-5L Tariff, Five-Level EQ-5D Value Set

EQ-5D-5L value set is a scoring algorithm, estimated from a general public valuation study, that gives each of the 3,125 EQ-5D-5L states a QALY utility.

EQ-HWBConceptEQ Health and Wellbeing, EuroQol Health and Wellbeing

EQ-HWB is the EQ Health and Wellbeing measure, a 25-item questionnaire for patients, social care users and carers used in economic evaluation.

EQ-HWB-SConceptEQ-HWB-9, EQ Health and Wellbeing Short, EuroQol Health and Wellbeing Short

EQ-HWB-S, renamed EQ-HWB-9, is the nine-item short form of the EQ Health and Wellbeing measure, with a UK pilot value set giving utilities for QALYs.

Equal Value of Life Year GainedTermevLYG, Equal-Value Life-Year

The equal value of life years gained (evLYG) is ICER's measure that counts each added year of life at full health, whatever the patient's health state.

Equal WeightsTermEqual Weighting, Unweighted Pooling

A method combining multiple experts' judgements by giving each opinion identical weight in the pooled estimate, unlike performance-based weighting.

Equi-Effective DoseTermEquieffective Dose

Equi-effective dose, in PBAC cost-minimisation, is the dose of a new medicine and of its main comparator judged equally effective, used to compare costs.

EquilibriumConceptMarket Balance, Balanced State

A state in an economic system where opposing forces, such as supply and demand, balance so there is no inherent tendency to change.

Equilibrium PriceConceptMarket-Clearing Price, Balancing Price

An equilibrium price is the price at which quantity demanded equals quantity supplied in a specified market under the model's stated conditions.

Equipment ManagementTermMedical Device Upkeep, Biomedical Asset Management

The processes an organisation uses to acquire, maintain, and appropriately use its medical equipment, including preventive maintenance and inventory tracking.

EquipoiseConcept

Equipoise is genuine uncertainty among informed experts about which treatment in a trial is better, the usual ethical test for randomising patients.

Equitable AccessTermFair Access, Equitable Healthcare Access

A state where individuals have a fair opportunity to obtain needed healthcare regardless of income, geography, or ethnicity irrelevant to clinical need.

EquityConceptFairness Principle, Distributional Fairness

Equity is fairness in how health, healthcare and its financing are distributed: equal treatment for equal need, and appropriately more for greater need.

Equity AnalysisConceptFairness Assessment, Distributional Equity Assessment

An assessment of whether the distribution of health, access, or financing burden across a population is fair, distinct from merely equal.

Equity CriterionTermFairness Criterion, Equity Decision Standard

A standard judging whether a funding decision would exacerbate or reduce existing disparities in health outcomes or access.

Equity GapTermFairness Gap, Avoidable Disparity

The observed difference in health outcomes, access, or financing burden between population subgroups that is considered unfair or avoidable.

Equity-Efficiency Trade-offConceptEquity-Efficiency Tradeoff, Efficiency-Equity Trade-off, Equity and Efficiency Trade-off

The equity-efficiency trade-off is the total health given up for a fairer distribution when the option that maximises health is not the fairest one.

Equity-Weighted AnalysisConceptEquity-Weighted CEA, Weighted Health Gain Analysis

Equity-weighted analysis is a cost-effectiveness analysis in which health gains for priority groups, such as the severely ill, are weighted more heavily.

Equivalence TrialConceptEquivalence Study, Therapeutic Equivalence Study

A trial designed to show a new treatment's effect is neither substantially better nor worse than an existing treatment, within a set margin.

Equivalent VariationConceptEV

Equivalent variation (EV) is the income change, made instead of a price, health or policy change, that leaves a person as well off as that change would.

Error CheckingTermFormula Verification, Model Debugging Check

The systematic review of a model's formulas, code, and outputs to identify mistakes such as incorrect cell references or logical inconsistencies.

Essential Health BenefitsTermEHB, Mandated Benefit Categories

A defined set of service categories certain plans must cover under regulatory standards, ensuring a baseline level of comprehensive coverage.

Essential Package DesignTermBenefit Package Design, Basic Package Definition

The process of determining which healthcare services will be included within a defined, typically publicly funded, basic benefits package.

Established TechnologyTermMature Technology, Routine-Use Technology

A technology in routine clinical use for an extended period, with a well-developed evidence base and generally accepted role in care.

Ethical CriterionTermEthics Criterion, Ethical Decision Standard

A standard reflecting a specific ethical principle, such as fairness or patient autonomy, used to inform an assessment or policy decision.

Ethical EvidenceTermEthics Evidence, Ethical-Dimension Analysis

Information or analysis addressing the ethical dimensions of a technology or policy decision, such as its effect on patient autonomy.

Ethical FeasibilityTermEthics Feasibility, Ethical Acceptability Assessment

An assessment of whether a proposed policy option is ethically acceptable given prevailing values, considering fairness and potential harm.

Ethical ReviewTermEthics Review, Ethical Appraisal

A formal evaluation of the ethical acceptability of a proposed research study or health policy, conducted by a dedicated committee.

Ethical StandardsTermEthics Standards, Professional Ethical Principles

The specific principles governing appropriate professional conduct within a field, intended to protect the interests and wellbeing of those affected.

Ethics CommitteeTermREC, Institutional Ethics Panel

A body responsible for reviewing the ethical acceptability of proposed research or clinical practices, evaluating risk, merit, and adherence to principles.

Ethics ConsultationTermClinical Ethics Advice, Ethics Advisory Service

A service provided by ethics experts to help clinicians, patients, or researchers navigate an ethically complex situation or decision.

Euler MethodConceptForward Euler, Explicit Euler Scheme

The Euler method is a first-order numerical procedure that approximates the solution of an initial-value ordinary differential equation by advancing from the current value along the derivative over discrete steps.

EUnetHTATermEuropean Network for HTA

EUnetHTA was the European network for joint health technology assessment; its final phase ended in 2023, before Regulation (EU) 2021/2282 applied in 2025.

Evaluation StandardsTermStudy Conduct Criteria, Appraisal Standards, Research Standards, Good Research Practice, Research Conduct Rules

The criteria used to assess whether a research study has been conducted appropriately and achieved its intended objectives, scientifically and ethically.

EventTermSimulation Occurrence, Discrete Occurrence

A specific occurrence within a simulation model that changes the state of the system at a defined point in time.

Event DefinitionTermEvent Specification, Countable-Event Spec

The precise specification of what counts as a countable clinical or economic event within a decision-analytic model.

Event ProbabilityConceptTransition Likelihood, Per-Cycle Event Risk

An event probability is the chance that a specified event occurs in a defined population or risk set over a stated time interval.

Event QueueConceptFuture-Event List, Event Calendar, Future Events List, FEL

An event queue is the time-ordered collection of pending events that a discrete-event simulation processes to advance its clock and update system states.

Event StructureTermEvent Arrangement, Event Architecture

The overall arrangement of clinical and economic events within a decision-analytic model, including how they relate to one another over time.

Event-Free SurvivalConceptEFS

Event-free survival is the time from a specified starting point to the first event in a prespecified endpoint, with incomplete event-free follow-up handled according to the study's censoring rules.

EvergreeningTermExclusivity Extension, Lifecycle Patent Extension

A strategy extending a product's effective market exclusivity beyond its original patent term, often through patents on minor formulation or indication changes.

EVICTermInformation Value Measure, VoI Decision Criterion

A value of information measure expressing the expected value of collecting further evidence before a technology decision, weighed against its cost.

EvidenceConcept

Evidence is the information from studies, routine data and expert judgement used in health economics to estimate costs and outcomes of decision options.

Evidence AdaptationConceptEvidence Transfer, Cross-Jurisdiction Transfer, Model Adaptation, Model Repurposing, Setting Transfer

Evidence adaptation is modifying an economic evaluation from one country or setting so that it reflects another setting's costs, practice and population.

Evidence AssessmentTermEvidence Appraisal, Evidence Evaluation Process

The overall process of identifying, evaluating, and synthesising available research evidence to inform a clinical or health economic decision.