Dictionary

S

Specialty HospitalTermSpecialised Hospital, Focused-Factory Hospital

A hospital focused on treating a specific condition type or procedure category, such as orthopaedic or cardiac surgery, unlike a general hospital.

Specialty PharmacyTermSpecialised Pharmacy, High-Cost Drug Pharmacy

A pharmacy service focused on dispensing and managing high-cost, complex medications requiring specialised handling, education, and monitoring.

Specialty TierTermSpecialty Formulary Tier, Biologics Tier

A formulary category for high-cost specialty medications, typically biologics, usually carrying the highest patient cost-sharing of any tier.

Specific Stop-LossTermIndividual Stop-Loss, Specific Excess Insurance

A reinsurance form protecting a self-insured employer against a single enrollee's claims exceeding a predefined threshold, unlike aggregate stop-loss.

SpecificityConceptTrue Negative Rate, TNR

The proportion of people without a specified target condition who test negative at a stated diagnostic threshold, calculated as true negatives divided by true negatives plus false positives.

Spider PlotTermRadar Plot, Spider Diagram

A graphical sensitivity analysis tool showing how a model's output changes as each input parameter is varied across its plausible range.

SpinTermResult Overstatement, Interpretation Bias

The practice of presenting research results, especially non-significant primary outcomes, in a way that emphasises secondary findings to convey false favourability.

Spinal Cord InjuryTermSCI, Spinal Injury

Damage to the spinal cord that can cause permanent loss of movement and sensation below the injury level, typically from trauma.

Spline ModelConceptSpline-Based Model, Piecewise Polynomial Model

A model using piecewise polynomial functions joined smoothly at knots to represent a flexible, non-linear relationship such as time and hazard.

SSI RateTermSurgical Site Infection Rate, SSI Frequency

A measure of the frequency of surgical site infections following a procedure within a facility, a surgical infection prevention indicator.

Stable DiseaseTermSD, Disease Stability

A standardised tumour response classification for a tumour that has neither shrunk enough for a partial response nor grown enough for progressive disease.

Staffing ManagementTermStaff Management, Workforce Deployment

The processes an organisation uses to plan, schedule, and optimise workforce deployment relative to anticipated patient care needs.

Stakeholder AnalysisTermStakeholder Mapping, Interested-Party Analysis

A systematic process identifying individuals and groups affected by or interested in a proposed policy, assessing their likely positions and influence.

Stakeholder EngagementTermStakeholder Engagement HTA, Stakeholder Involvement

The broader, ongoing process through which an assessment body communicates and interacts with interested parties beyond formal consultation periods.

Standard CostingConceptStandard Cost Method, Predetermined Costing

Standard costing sets the expected cost of a health service in advance from standard quantities and prices, then compares actual costs with this benchmark.

Standard DeviationConceptSigma, Root Mean Square Deviation

Standard deviation is the square root of variance, expressing how dispersed values are around their mean in the variable’s original units under a specified population or sample convention.

Standard ErrorConceptSE, SEM

The standard error (SE) is the standard deviation of an estimate's sampling distribution, showing how precisely a mean cost or treatment effect is known.

Standard GambleConceptSG, Reference Gamble

The standard gamble is a choice-based health-state valuation method that finds the probability at which a respondent is indifferent between living in a certain health state and accepting a lottery between specified better and worse outcomes.

Standard NormalConceptZ Distribution, Unit Normal

The standard normal distribution is a normal distribution with mean 0 and standard deviation 1, used in health economics to read z values as probabilities.

Standard of CareTermSoC, Current Standard Treatment

The treatment widely accepted by clinical practice as the appropriate baseline for a given condition, commonly used as the comparator in an economic evaluation.

Standard ReviewTermStandard Regulatory Review, Default Review Timeline

The default regulatory review timeline for a marketing application, unlike an accelerated priority review granted for treatments addressing serious unmet need.

Standardised Mean DifferenceConceptSMD, Standardized Mean Difference

The standardised mean difference (SMD) is a mean difference divided by a standard deviation, used to pool continuous outcomes measured on different scales.

Standardised Mortality RatioConceptStandardized Mortality Ratio, SMR, Standardised Mortality Ratio Application

The standardised mortality ratio (SMR) is observed deaths divided by deaths expected at reference rates for a group's age mix, used to gauge excess deaths.

Standardised ResidualConceptStandardised Residuals, Scaled Residual

A standardised residual is a regression residual divided by its estimated standard deviation, used to flag outlying patients in cost and outcome models.

Standardised Response MeanConceptSRM, Standardized Response Mean

The standardised response mean (SRM) is a responsiveness index for health outcome measures, the mean change divided by the standard deviation of change.

StandardizationTermStandardisation, Process Standardisation

The process of establishing and consistently applying a uniform, defined approach to a process across an organisation, reducing unwarranted variation.

Star RatingTermStar Quality Rating, Quality Scorecard

A summary quality rating system, typically one to five stars, conveying a simplified assessment based on aggregate underlying measure scores.

Stark LawTermPhysician Self-Referral Law, Stark Statute

A US federal law, the physician self-referral law, prohibiting physicians referring patients for designated health services to entities they have financial ties with.

State DefinitionTermState Characterisation, Health-State Description

The precise specification of what constitutes a distinct health state within a Markov model, including the clinical criteria for assignment to it.

State MembershipTermState Assignment, Cohort Allocation

The specific health state a patient, or proportion of a modelled cohort, occupies at a given point within a Markov model.

State OccupancyConceptState Residence, Time in State

State occupancy is the expected time a modelled cohort spends in a health state, found by adding the share of the cohort in that state across model cycles.

State RewardConceptState Value, State Payoff

A cost, utility, health outcome, or other consequence accrued while a modelled person occupies a specified state for a defined amount of time.

State Space ModelConceptState-Space Representation, Dynamic State Model

A modelling framework representing a system's evolution over time through a defined set of possible states and transition probabilities between them.

State Transition DiagramTermMarkov Diagram, State Diagram, Bubble Diagram, Influence Sketch, Model Sketch

A visual representation of a Markov model showing each health state as a labelled box and each permitted transition as an annotated arrow.

State Transition ModelConceptSTM, State-Transition Modelling

A state transition model is a decision model in which a cohort or simulated patients move between health states over time to estimate costs and QALYs.

Stated PreferenceTermSP, Contingent Preference Elicitation

A category of valuation methods that elicits preferences by asking people directly about hypothetical choices, rather than observing actual market behaviour.

Statement of Cash FlowsTermCash Flow Statement, Statement of Cash Flow

A financial statement summarising the cash generated and used by an organisation's operating, investing, and financing activities over a period.

Static ModelTermStatic Modelling, Time-Invariant Model

A model representing costs and outcomes at a single point in time, or that ignores how one individual's risk depends on others.

Statistical MethodTermStatistical Technique, Quantitative Analysis Technique

In health economics, a formal procedure for analysing data to estimate effects, quantify uncertainty and test hypotheses, spanning parametric, non-parametric and semi-parametric approaches.

Statistical PowerConceptPower, Test Power

Statistical power is the probability that a study will reject a null hypothesis when a specified alternative hypothesis is true.

Statistical Process ControlConceptProcess Behaviour Charting, Shewhart Method

Statistical process control (SPC) is a set of statistical methods for monitoring health service data over time to tell routine variation from real change.

Statistical SignificanceConceptSignificant Result

Statistical significance is a threshold-based conclusion that an observed result is sufficiently incompatible with a prespecified null hypothesis under a stated statistical model to meet the chosen significance level.

Status Quo Bias ConceptTermStatus Quo Bias, Inertia Bias

The tendency to prefer the current state of affairs over available alternatives, even when switching would be beneficial.

Status Quo OptionTermCurrent-Situation Option, No-Choice Option

An alternative in a choice experiment representing a respondent's current circumstances, included so preferences can be measured against a realistic baseline.

Steady StateConceptStationary Distribution, Equilibrium Distribution

A steady state in a Markov model is the stationary distribution of a cohort across health states, unchanged from cycle to cycle under fixed transitions.

Stem Cell TherapyTermStem Cell Treatment, SCT

A treatment using stem cells, capable of developing into various specialised cell types, to repair or replace damaged tissue.

Step TherapyTermStep Therapy Requirement, Fail-First

A utilisation management policy requiring a patient to try and fail lower-cost treatment options before a payer covers a pricier alternative.

Step Therapy ProtocolTermStep Protocol, Fail-First Criteria

The specific clinical criteria and sequence an insurer requires a patient to follow before a more expensive treatment will be covered.

Step-Down AllocationTermStep-Down Method, Sequential Cost Allocation

A method of allocating support department costs to operating departments in sequence, so that once allocated, no further costs return to that department.

Step-Down TherapyTermDe-escalation Therapy, Dose Reduction Strategy

A treatment strategy beginning with a more intensive medication or dose and progressively reducing intensity once adequate control is achieved.