Glossary

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | V | W

A

ABC analysis
Method by which medicines are divided, according to their annual usage (unit cost times annual consumption) into class A items (the 10 to 20 percent…
Access
The patient's ability to obtain medical care, including medicines, and a measure of the proportion of a population that reaches appropriate health…
Access with evidence development (AED)
Initiative in which a payer provides temporary or interim funding for a particular technology or service to facilitate the collection of information…
Accreditation
An evaluative process in which a health care organisation undergoes an examination of its policies, procedures and performance by an external…
Active ingredient
Ingredient that alone or in combination with one or more other ingredients is considered to fulfil the intended activity of a medicine. Synonym:…
Actor
Umbrella term for persons and entities which comprises authorities, market players and stakeholders.
Actual price
The price that is actually paid by the purchaser taking into account any granted discounts and/or rebates. The actual price may correspond to the…
Acute care
A type of health care in which a patient is treated for an acute (immediate and severe) episode of illness, for the subsequent treatment of injuries…
Acute care beds
Acute care beds are beds accommodating patients where the principal clinical intent is to do one or more of the following: - manage labour (obstetric…
Adaptive licensing
A prospectively planned process, starting with the early authorization of a medicine in a restricted patient population, followed by iterative phases…
Adherence
Adherence to long term therapy is defined as the the extent to which a person’s behaviour – taking medication, following a diet, and/or executing…
Advanced therapy medicinal product
Advanced therapy medicinal products are based on manufacturing processes focussed on various gene transfer-produced bio-molecules, and/or…
Adverse reaction
A response to a medicinal product which is noxious and unintended and which occurs at doses normally used in man for the prophylaxis, diagnosis or…
Affordability
The extent to which medicines and further health care products are available to the people who need them at a price they / their health system can…
Analogous substitution
Dispensation of a medicine (often generic) by the pharmacist with a different active ingredient (or combination product) but the same therapeutic…
Anatomical, therapeutic, chemical classification
A classification system of medicines where the active ingredients are divided into different groups according to the organ or system on which they…
Auction
A system where potential buyers place competitive bids on assets and services. The asset or service in question will sell to the party that places…
Authority
Government entities responsible for designing the regulatory framework and implementing policies (e.g. ministries, public agencies). In the European…

B

Batch
A specific quantity of material produced in a process or series of processes so that it is expected to be homogeneous within specified limits. In the…
Benchmark
A measure or standard to which an activity, performance, service or result can be compared. Benchmarking is the term given to the process of…