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.
Q
- QALY Calculation MethodConceptQALY Estimation, QALY Derivation
- The process of computing quality-adjusted life years by multiplying time spent in a health state by its utility value, then summing across states.
- QALY GainTermIncremental QALY, QALYs Gained
- The increase in quality-adjusted life years attributable to an intervention, the difference between the QALYs expected under it and its comparator.
- QALY ShortfallConceptSeverity Shortfall, Quality-Adjusted Life Expectancy Shortfall, QALE Shortfall
- QALY shortfall is the expected QALY gap between a matched general population and patients on current care, which NICE reads as absolute or proportional.
- Qualified Health PlanTermQHP, ACA Marketplace Plan
- A plan meeting specific certification requirements, such as covering essential health benefits, allowing it to be sold through a regulated exchange.
- Quality AnalyticsTermQuality-of-Care Analytics, Performance Analytics
- The application of data analysis to healthcare quality data, identifying patterns and benchmarking performance to inform improvement efforts.
- Quality AssessmentTermStudy Quality Appraisal, Methodological Quality Review
- The general process of systematically evaluating a study's methodological rigour and trustworthiness, covering design, risk of bias, and reporting completeness.
- Quality Assessment ModelTermQuality Appraisal Framework, Study-Quality Tool
- A structured tool or checklist systematically evaluating research methodological quality against predefined criteria, such as the Cochrane risk of bias tool.
- Quality AssuranceTermQA, Quality Governance
- Quality assurance in health economic modelling is the planned set of processes and checks used to avoid, find and correct errors while a model is built.
- Quality BonusTermPerformance Bonus, Quality Payment
- An additional payment for achieving or exceeding a specific quality performance benchmark, used within pay-for-performance arrangements.
- Quality CollaborativeTermLearning Collaborative, QI Collaborative
- A structured arrangement in which multiple organisations work together, sharing data and best practices, to improve performance on a shared objective.
- Quality EvaluationTerm
- An assessment of the quality of healthcare provision, examining structure, process and outcome as linked dimensions within a single framework.
- Quality GapTermQuality Shortfall, Care-Quality Deficit
- The difference between an organisation's current performance and what would be achieved if care fully matched evidence-based standards.
- Quality ImprovementTermQI, Continuous Improvement
- A systematic, ongoing approach to enhancing healthcare processes and outcomes, using structured methods such as plan-do-study-act to test changes.
- Quality Incentive DesignTermP4P Scheme Design, Incentive-Scheme Design
- The specific structure of a payment arrangement tying financial incentives to a provider's performance on defined quality measures.
- Quality IndicatorTermQuality Metric, Performance Indicator, Quality Measure
- A specific, measurable metric assessing an aspect of healthcare quality, spanning structural, process, and outcome domains of care.
- Quality Management HospitalTermHospital Quality Management, TQM in Hospitals
- The overall system of processes a hospital uses to monitor, maintain, and improve care quality, covering measurement and accountability mechanisms.
- Quality of CareConceptCare Quality, Healthcare Quality
- The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes while remaining consistent with current professional knowledge and responsive to people’s needs.
- Quality of DeathTermQuality of Dying, End-of-Life Experience Quality
- A concept describing the overall experience of dying, including physical comfort, psychological wellbeing, and alignment with a patient's values during life's final period.
- Quality of EvidenceConceptEvidence Quality, Evidence Certainty Level
- A judgement about how much confidence can be placed in an effect estimate, based on study design, risk of bias, and precision.
- Quality of LifeTermQoL, Life Quality
- A broad concept covering a person's overall wellbeing, including physical, psychological, social, and material aspects, of which health is one part.
- Quality of Life OutcomeTermQoL Outcome, HRQoL Endpoint
- A measure capturing a health condition or treatment's overall impact on a patient's wellbeing across physical, psychological, and social dimensions.
- Quality of Life ResponseTermQoL Response, HRQoL Change
- A measure indicating a clinically meaningful improvement in quality of life following treatment, defined using an established minimal important difference threshold.
- Quality of Well-Being ScaleTermQWB, QWB-SA
- A generic, preference-based health status instrument combining physical, social, and mobility functioning with symptom complexes into a single index anchored between zero and one.
- Quality PolicyTermQuality Strategy, Quality Framework
- An organisational or government policy establishing expectations related to healthcare quality, from public reporting to value-based payment programmes.
- Quality ScoreConcept
- A quality score is a single number summing checklist items to rate a study's methodological quality, now discouraged in favour of risk of bias judgements.
- Quality StandardTermCare Standard, Quality Benchmark
- A concise set of specific, measurable statements describing high-priority quality improvement areas, typically derived from evidence-based guidelines.
- Quality UncertaintyTermLemons Problem, Hidden-Quality Problem
- A condition in which buyers cannot reliably judge a good's quality before purchase, risking markets dominated by lower-quality offerings.
- Quality-Adjusted CoverageTermQuality-Weighted Coverage, Effective Service Coverage
- A coverage measure accounting for whether an intervention was delivered with sufficient quality to achieve its intended health benefit, not just contact.
- Quality-Adjusted ExpectancyTermQALE, Quality-Adjusted Life Expectancy
- A summary population health measure expressing expected remaining years of life weighted by health-related quality of life during those years.
- Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY)ConceptQALY, Quality-Adjusted Life-Year
- A quality-adjusted life year (QALY) combines length and quality of life in one measure: a year in full health counts as one QALY and death counts as zero.
- Quality-Adjusted Time Without SymptomsConceptQ-TWiST, TWiST Analysis
- A quality-weighted survival measure that partitions time into toxicity, time without defined symptoms or toxicity, and time after disease progression, then sums each duration multiplied by its state-specific weight.
- Quality-Based IncentiveTermP4P Incentive, Quality Bonus Payment
- A financial reward provided to a provider for achieving specific, predefined quality performance targets under value-based payment arrangements.
- Quantitative SynthesisTermStatistical Synthesis, Statistical Pooling of Studies
- The statistical combination of numerical results from multiple studies into a single pooled estimate, unlike a descriptive narrative synthesis.
- Quantity DistortionTermOutput Distortion, Quantity Misallocation
- A deviation of the quantity produced or consumed from the level that would prevail under efficient conditions, often caused by price controls or insurance.
- Quantity LimitTermDispensing Limit, Dose Quantity Cap, QL Protocol, Dispensing-Limit Rule
- A restriction on the maximum amount of a specific medication or service covered within a defined period, to encourage appropriate use.
- QuarantineTermMovement Restriction
- A public health practice restricting movement of individuals who may have been exposed to a contagious disease but are not confirmed infected.
- QuartileTermFour-Part Split, Quarter Division
- A descriptive statistic dividing a ranked dataset into four equal-sized groups, marking the twenty-fifth, fiftieth, and seventy-fifth percentiles.
- Quasi-Experimental DesignConceptQuasi-Experiment, Non-Randomised Design
- A research design estimating an intervention's causal effect without random assignment, instead using features such as a natural experiment or matched comparison group.
- Quaternary CareTermHighly Specialised Care, Advanced Tertiary Care
- The most highly specialised care level, involving advanced or experimental procedures typically available only at a few specialised centres.
- Queue ManagementTermQueue Control, Waiting-Line Management
- The strategies and systems used to organise and prioritise patients waiting for access to a limited healthcare resource.
- Queuing ModelConceptQueue Simulation, Waiting-Line Model
- A queuing model is a mathematical representation of how arrivals, service times, capacity, and service rules generate waiting, congestion, and throughput in a service system.
- Qui TamTermWhistleblower Suit, False-Claims Action
- A US False Claims Act provision letting a private individual sue on the government's behalf against suspected fraud, sharing in any recovery.
- Quick RatioTermAcid-Test Ratio, Liquidity Gauge
- A financial ratio calculated as current assets excluding inventory, divided by current liabilities, a more conservative liquidity measure than the current ratio.