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.
P
- Present ValueConceptDiscounted Value, Present Worth
- The current worth of a future sum of money or cash flow stream, found by discounting each future amount using a specified discount rate.
- PresenteeismTermReduced On-Job Productivity, Working While Unwell
- Reduced productivity from an employee who is physically present at work but performing below their normal capacity due to illness or injury.
- Pressure Ulcer RateTermBedsore Rate, Decubitus Ulcer Rate
- A measure of how frequently hospitalised patients develop pressure ulcers, or bedsores, a nursing care quality and prevention indicator.
- PrevalenceConceptExisting-Case Frequency, Case Proportion
- The total proportion of a population with a particular condition at a given time, covering both new and pre-existing cases.
- Prevalence DifferenceTermAbsolute Prevalence Gap, Prevalence Disparity
- The absolute difference in the prevalence of a condition between two groups, giving a direct measure of disparity in disease burden.
- Prevalence RatioConceptRelative Prevalence, Comparative Prevalence
- The prevalence ratio (PR) is the prevalence of a condition in an exposed group divided by that in an unexposed group, used to compare disease burden.
- Prevented FractionTermPF
- The proportion of disease cases avoided in a population due to a protective exposure or intervention, the counterpart to the attributable fraction.
- Prevention EconomicsTermEconomics of Prevention, Preventive Care Economics, Health Promotion Economics, Health Promotion Cost-Effectiveness, Wellness Economics
- The broad application of health economic evaluation to interventions preventing disease onset or progression, spanning primary and secondary prevention.
- Prevention PolicyTermPreventive Health Policy, Health-Protection Policy
- Government or organisational policy specifically aimed at preventing disease onset or progression, spanning immunisation, screening, and health promotion.
- Prevention Quality IndicatorTermPQI, Preventable-Admission Indicator
- A standardised measure assessing hospital admission rates for conditions considered preventable with adequate primary care access.
- Preventive InterventionTermPrevention Programme, Preventive Measure
- Any programme or treatment intended to prevent disease onset or progression, spanning vaccination, screening, and lifestyle modification.
- Preventive TherapyTermChemoprevention, Prophylactic Regimen
- Treatment given to individuals without clinically apparent disease but at elevated risk, intended to prevent or delay the disease's onset.
- Preventive TreatmentTermPreventive Care, Prophylaxis Treatment
- Treatment given to reduce the risk of a disease developing, encompassing both medications and procedures for individuals without clinically apparent disease.
- PriceTermMarket Rate, Selling Amount
- The amount of money required to purchase a good or service in a market transaction.
- Price CapTermPrice Ceiling, Maximum Allowed Price
- A government-imposed upper limit on the price a manufacturer may charge for a drug, used as direct price regulation in some systems.
- Price ControlTermPrice Regulation, Statutory Price Limit
- A government-imposed limit on the price charged for a good or service, set as either a ceiling or a floor.
- Price CutTermMandated Price Decrease, Price Lowering
- A reduction in a drug's price, whether voluntary or mandated, affecting a treatment's ongoing cost-effectiveness and overall budget impact.
- Price DistortionTermDistorted Pricing, Market-Signal Distortion
- A deviation of a good's market price from the level that would prevail under efficient conditions, often caused by tax, subsidy, or regulation.
- Price Elasticity of DemandConceptDemand Price Sensitivity, PED
- Price elasticity of demand measures the proportional change in quantity demanded associated with a proportional change in price, holding other determinants of demand constant.
- Price Elasticity of HealthcareTermHealthcare Demand Elasticity, RAND HIE Elasticity
- An empirical estimate of how sensitive healthcare use is to changes in out-of-pocket price, most famously quantified by a large randomised experiment.
- Price Elasticity of ICERTermICER Price Sensitivity, ICER Elasticity
- A measure of how sensitively a treatment's ICER responds to price changes, used to identify the price at which it crosses a cost-effectiveness threshold.
- Price ErosionTermPrice Decline, Post-Patent Erosion
- The gradual decline in a drug's price over time, most commonly following generic or biosimilar competition after patent exclusivity is lost.
- Price FreezeTermPrice Standstill, Frozen Pricing
- A government or payer policy temporarily preventing a manufacturer from increasing a drug's price for a specified period.
- Price GrowthTermPrice Increase, Price Rise
- The component of rising healthcare expenditure attributable to increases in input prices, such as wages or drug costs, rather than volume or intensity.
- Price IndexationTermPrice Linking, Indexed Pricing
- A mechanism tying a drug's allowed price increases to a specified inflation index, limiting growth to a predictable, generally modest rate.
- Price LinkageTermPrice Referencing, Cross-Country Price Linking
- A policy or contractual arrangement connecting a drug's price in one market to its price in another, such as international reference pricing.
- Price MonitoringTermPrice Surveillance, Price Tracking
- The ongoing tracking of a drug's price over time and across markets, used to assess trends and inform policy or negotiation.
- Price NegotiationTermPrice Bargaining, Payer-Manufacturer Bargaining
- The process through which a manufacturer and payer discuss and agree a drug's price, informed by health economic evidence and negotiating leverage.
- Price ParityTermUniform Pricing, Cross-Market Price Equality
- A contractual or policy requirement ensuring a drug's price in one market does not exceed, or fall below, its price elsewhere.
- Price ProtectionTermPrice Guarantee, Price-Increase Cap
- A contractual clause limiting or preventing future price increases beyond an agreed threshold for a specified period, giving payers cost certainty.
- Price RevisionTermPrice Adjustment, Price Review
- A formal change to a drug's established price, whether up or down, typically following periodic review or renegotiation with a payer.
- Price SpilloverTermPrice Contagion, Cross-Border Price Effect
- The effect by which a pricing decision for a drug in one market influences its price elsewhere, most notably through reference pricing links.
- Price StrategyTermPricing Strategy, Commercial Pricing Approach
- A manufacturer's overall approach to setting and managing a treatment's price across its market life and different geographic markets.
- Price TransparencyTermPricing Transparency, Open Pricing
- The degree to which actual prices paid for healthcare goods and services, including negotiated discounts, are made publicly available rather than kept confidential.
- Price-Volume AgreementTermPVA, Volume-Linked Pricing Deal
- An arrangement linking a treatment's price to its total utilisation volume, giving payers a mechanism to manage budget exposure as use expands.
- Pricing DossierTermPrice Justification Dossier, Value-and-Price File
- A comprehensive document supporting pricing and reimbursement discussions with a payer or assessment body, including clinical, economic, and comparative pricing evidence.
- Pricing PolicyTermDrug Price Policy, Medicines Price Regulation
- The overall set of rules a government or payer uses to determine or influence pharmaceutical prices within its jurisdiction.
- Pricing SubmissionTermPrice Submission Package, P&R Submission
- A formal request from a manufacturer to a payer or pricing authority seeking approval for a specific new treatment price.
- Primary CareTermFirst-Contact Care, General Practice Care
- Basic, first-contact healthcare typically provided by general practitioners, serving as the entry point into a health system and ongoing coordination.
- Primary Care CostTermGP Cost, First-Contact Care Cost
- The expense of healthcare services delivered by general practitioners and other primary care providers, a health system's typical first point of contact.
- Primary Data CollectionTermPrimary Data Gathering, First-Hand Data Collection
- The process of gathering new data directly from original sources for a specific purpose, unlike secondary analysis of existing data.
- Primary EndpointTermPrimary Outcome, Principal Endpoint
- The main outcome measure a trial is specifically designed and statistically powered to assess, the principal basis for judging its success.
- Primary HealthcareTermPrimary Health Care, Comprehensive First-Level Care, Primary Care Model, Patient-Centred Medical Home, PCMH
- An approach to health system organisation emphasising accessible, community-based, first-contact care as the foundation of the entire system.
- Primary PreventionTermFirst-Level Prevention, Risk-Factor Prevention
- Preventive intervention aimed at stopping disease onset in people who have not yet developed it, unlike secondary prevention's early detection focus.
- Primary ResearchConceptPrimary Study
- Primary research is research that collects new data, as in trials, cohort studies and preference or costing surveys, rather than reusing existing data.
- Primary ResistanceTermIntrinsic Resistance, Innate Resistance
- A situation where cancer fails to respond adequately to treatment from the outset, without ever showing an initial period of disease control.
- Primary Service AreaTermCore Catchment Area, Main Service Zone
- The specific geographic area from which most of a facility's patients originate, representing its core, most immediate market.
- PRIME DesignationTermPRIME Scheme, Priority Medicines Designation
- A European Medicines Agency support scheme for medicines addressing significant unmet need, offering enhanced regulatory interaction akin to US breakthrough designation.
- Principal Agent ModelConceptAgency Model, Delegation Model
- A formal framework analysing situations where a principal delegates decisions to an agent whose interests may not fully align with their own.