Dictionary

G

Geometric Mean LOSTermGMLOS, Geometric Mean Length of Stay

A statistical measure of typical diagnosis-related group length of stay, using geometric rather than arithmetic mean to reduce outlier influence.

Geriatric EconomicsTermEconomics of Ageing, Older-Adult Health Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to health and long-term care needs specific to older adults, including assessment and multiple chronic conditions.

Gibbs SamplingConceptGibbs Sampler, Conditional Sampling

A Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm generating samples from a complex joint distribution by iteratively sampling each variable from its conditional distribution.

Gini CoefficientTermGini Index, Inequality Coefficient

A summary measure of inequality across a population, ranging from 0 for perfect equality to 1 for maximum inequality, commonly applied to income or health.

Gini Coefficient HealthConceptHealth Gini, Health Concentration Measure

A health Gini coefficient is a scale-normalised measure of relative inequality in a specified nonnegative health variable across a population, obtained from pairwise differences or its Lorenz curve.

Global BudgetTermAggregate Budget Ceiling, Aggregate Funding Envelope

A predetermined total funding amount allocated to a programme, sector, or provider for a defined period, within which spending decisions are made.

Global Budget SystemTermSector Budget Cap, Total Budget Arrangement

A financing arrangement where providers or an entire sector operate within a predetermined total spending limit, rather than being paid per service.

Global BudgetingTermAggregate Budgeting, Fixed-Envelope Budgeting

A budgeting approach allocating a fixed total funding amount to a programme, provider, or sector for a defined period.

Global Burden of DiseaseTermGBD Study, Global Disease Burden Programme

A research programme systematically quantifying the health loss caused by diseases, injuries, and risk factors across countries and time, using disability-adjusted life years.

Global HealthTermWorld Health

An area of study and practice prioritising improving health and equity worldwide, emphasising transnational issues that transcend national boundaries.

Global Health EconomicsTermEconomics of Global Health, International Health Economics

The application of health economic evaluation to health issues with global or cross-national relevance, often addressing lower-income country constraints.

Global Health SecurityTermGHS, Epidemic Preparedness Capacity

The collective capacity of the international community to prevent, detect, and respond to acute public health threats crossing national borders.

Global Health StatusTermSummary Health Rating, Overall QoL Scale

A summary scale within some quality of life instruments asking patients to rate overall health with a few general questions, unlike more detailed dimension scales.

Global Sensitivity AnalysisConceptGSA, Simultaneous Sensitivity Analysis

Global sensitivity analysis, or GSA, evaluates how uncertainty in model inputs contributes to variation in model outputs when inputs vary across their full specified ranges or distributions.

Global Trigger ToolTermGTT, Trigger Tool

A structured methodology retrospectively reviewing records for indicators suggesting a possible adverse event, more comprehensively estimating true harm rates than voluntary reporting.

Global Value DossierTermGVD, Master Value Dossier

A comprehensive manufacturer document presenting complete clinical and economic evidence, serving as a master reference adapted into country-specific local dossiers.

Glycemic ControlTermGlycaemic Control, Blood Glucose Control

The degree to which blood glucose levels are kept within a target range through diet, medication, and monitoring, commonly measured by HbA1c.

Goal AttainmentTermGAS, Individualised Goal Scaling

An outcome approach assessing treatment success by how far a patient reaches personally meaningful goals set with their clinician, rather than standardised measures alone.

Goal Setting InterventionTermGoal Setting, Target Setting

An intervention that sets specific, defined targets to improve motivation and performance toward a desired behaviour.

Goals of CareTermCare Goals, Treatment Priorities

A patient's expressed priorities for their medical treatment, particularly when facing serious illness, used to guide care consistent with what matters most.

Goals of Care DiscussionTermGoals of Care Conversation, Care Planning Conversation

A structured conversation between patient, family, and providers to clarify the patient's values and priorities for treatment, particularly in serious illness.

Gold PlanTermGold Tier Plan, Gold Metal Tier

A US Affordable Care Act marketplace plan category with a relatively high actuarial value, around eighty percent, giving higher premiums but lower cost-sharing.

Gompertz DistributionConceptGompertz Model Distribution, Gompertz Density

A probability distribution characterised by a hazard rate rising exponentially with time, originally developed to describe human mortality increasing with age.

Gompertz ModelConceptGompertz Survival Model, Gompertz Hazard Model

A survival model based on the Gompertz distribution, assuming the hazard rate rises exponentially over time, a pattern common in age-related mortality.

Good CharacteristicTermGood Property, Goods Classification Characteristic

In health economics, a property used to classify health goods and services by their rivalry in consumption and their excludability, explaining why provisions such as public health protection behave as public goods that private markets undersupply while most treatments behave as private goods.

Good DeathTermDignified Dying, Quality End-of-Life, Death with Dignity, Dignified Death, End-of-Life Autonomy

A palliative care concept describing an end-of-life experience characterised by comfort, dignity, and alignment with a patient's personal wishes.

Goodness of FitConceptFit Adequacy, Predicted-Observed Correspondence, Statistical Fit, Model Fit, Goodness-of-Fit Statistic

Goodness of fit describes how adequately a statistical model or probability distribution represents the observed data for its intended purpose.

Goodness of Fit TestConceptFit Test, Distributional Fit Test

A goodness of fit test assesses whether a specified discrepancy between observed data and a proposed probability model is unusually large under that model’s sampling assumptions.

Governance BlockTermLeadership and Governance, Governance Function

A core health system building block encompassing policy, regulation, and oversight mechanisms guiding and coordinating the system's overall functioning.

Governance StandardsTermOversight Standards, Governance Framework

The policies and oversight mechanisms established to ensure research is conducted responsibly and in accordance with ethical and regulatory requirements.

Government FailureTermState Failure, Policy Failure

A situation where government intervention fails to improve, or worsens, economic efficiency relative to what an unregulated market would have produced.

Government InterventionTermState Intervention, Public Intervention

Action taken by government to influence market outcomes, typically justified by market failure such as externalities, information asymmetry, or public goods.

Government SubsidyTermPublic Subsidy, State Subsidy

Financial support provided by a government to reduce the cost of a good or service, such as healthcare, below unsubsidised market price.

GRADETermGrading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation, Evidence Certainty Framework

An abbreviation for the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework, a widely adopted system for rating evidence certainty.

Gradient DescentConceptSteepest Descent, First-Order Optimisation

Gradient descent is an iterative first-order optimization method that reduces a differentiable objective function by repeatedly moving the parameter vector in the direction opposite its gradient.

Grandfathered PlanTermGrandfathered Health Plan, Legacy Plan

A health insurance plan predating a major regulatory reform, exempt from certain new requirements as long as it avoids significant coverage changes.

Greater Than Minimal RiskTermAbove-Minimal-Risk Study, Elevated Research Risk

A regulatory classification indicating a study's potential risks exceed those ordinarily encountered in daily life, triggering additional ethical review requirements.

Grey Box ModelTermPartially-Transparent Model, Semi-Transparent Model

A model in which some, but not all, of the internal structure and calculations are visible to external reviewers, between fully open and black box.

Grey LiteratureTermGray Literature, Unpublished Evidence

Research findings not published through traditional peer-reviewed channels, such as conference abstracts, government reports, and unpublished dissertations.

Grid SearchConceptGrid Optimisation, Parameter Sweep

An optimisation approach evaluating an objective function across a predefined set of candidate parameter combinations arranged in a regular grid.

Grievance DesignTermGrievance Procedure, Complaint Process

The structure and procedures an insurance plan sets for enrollees to formally express dissatisfaction other than through a specific claim denial appeal.

Gross CostingTermAggregate Costing, Average-Cost Method

A costing method that applies a single, average unit cost figure, typically from routine administrative data, to estimate total intervention cost.

Gross-to-NetTermGross-Net Reduction, List-to-Net Reduction

The overall reduction from a drug's publicly listed gross price to the actual net price realised after rebates and discounts.

Grossman ModelConceptHealth Capital Model, Grossman Health Demand Model

A theoretical model treating health as durable capital that individuals inherit, invest in, and that depreciates over time, produced using healthcare and other inputs.

Grounded TheoryConcept

Grounded theory is a qualitative research method that builds theory from data through constant comparison, theoretical sampling and coding.

Group MarketTermEmployer-Sponsored Market, Group Coverage Segment

The insurance market segment in which coverage is purchased by an employer or organisation on behalf of a defined member group.

Group PracticeTermMedical Group, Group Medical Practice

A medical practice in which multiple physicians share facilities, staff, and administrative infrastructure, unlike a single-physician solo practice.

Group Sequential DesignConceptGSD, Sequential Trial Design, Sequential Trial

A group sequential design is a trial design with prespecified interim analyses and stopping boundaries that permit early decisions while controlling the relevant overall error rates.

Group-Based Trajectory ModelConceptGBTM, Latent Class Growth Analysis

A technique identifying distinct subgroups following similar patterns of change over time, without assuming everyone follows the same single trajectory.

Growth Curve ModelConceptGCM, Individual Growth Model

A growth curve model estimates how a repeatedly measured outcome changes over time, allowing the average trajectory and individual trajectories to differ under specified assumptions.