Glossary | NICE

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en-GB"> <head> <title>Glossary | NICE</title>  <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@400;600&family=Lora:ital,wght@0,600;1,600&display=swap" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" /> <link href="https://cdn.nice.org.uk/niceorg/css/app.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />   <script crossorigin="anonymous" integrity="sha384-1H217gwSVyLSIfaLxHbE7dRb3v4mYCKbpQvzx0cegeju1MVsGrX5xXxAvs/HgeFs" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.7.1.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script crossorigin="anonymous" integrity="sha384-ez4i72z0XhJqm0ZRoQkpPN0bDV8Kw8PK3n8kjEZsWhRDrfICLd0AGghHJB+vytx0" src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-migrate-3.4.1.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/Themes/NICE.Bootstrap/scripts/head.combined-v1.10.9325.0.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_GB" /> <meta name="x-country" content="gb" /> <meta name="DC.Title" content="Glossary | NICE" /> <meta property="og:title" content="Glossary" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="Glossary" /> <meta name="msapplication-TileColor" content="#f6f6f6" /> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="//cdn.nice.org.uk/V3/Content/nice/favicon-144.png" /> <meta name="DC.Publisher" content="NICE" /> <meta name="DC.Rights.Copyright" content="All content on this site is NICE copyright unless otherwise stated. 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'&l=' + l : ''; j.async = true; j.src = '//www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=' + i + dl; f.parentNode.insertBefore(j, f); })(window, document, 'script', 'dataLayer', 'GTM-M55QTQ');</script>  <div id="global-nav-header"></div> <div id="printpane"></div> <header class="container "> <div class="zone zone-breadcrumb"> <div class="widget-GlossarySubMenuWidgetBreadcrumb widget-breadcrumb widget-sub-menu-widget widget"> <div class="widget-content"> <div class="container"> <ul class="breadcrumb"> <li><a href="/" data-track="mainbreadcrumb">Home</a></li> </ul> <h1 id="content-start">Glossary</h1> </div> </div> </div></div> </header> <div id="toTop"><span aria-hidden="true" class="icon-nice-chevron-up"></span></div> <main class="layout "> <div class="content content-primary"> <div class="zone zone-content"> <div id="glossary-list-index"> <div class="glossary-main"> <div id="glossary-intro"> <p class="lead">The NICE glossary provides brief definitions and explanations of terms used on the website. The terms describe how NICE works and how its guidance is produced.</p> <p>Our glossary excludes specific clinical and medical terms. If you cannot find the term you are looking for, please <a href="mailto:NICEGlossary@nice.org.uk">email us</a> so that we can consider adding it to the glossary.</p> <p>Some definitions and examples are based on those in the <a href="http://htaglossary.net/HomePage">HTAi consumer and patient glossary</a>, with thanks to Health Technology Assessment International.</p> <p>For terms used in social care, the <a href="http://www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/Browse/Informationandadvice/CareandSupportJargonBuster/">Care and Support Jargon Buster</a> from Think Local Act Personal is a useful guide to the most commonly used social care words and phrases, and what they mean.</p> </div> <div id="glossary-list"> <ul class="media-list"> <li class="media" id="Objective measure"> <h2 class="h4">Objective measure</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>A measurement that follows a standardised procedure which is less open to subjective interpretation by potentially biased observers and people in the study.</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Observational study"> <h2 class="h4">Observational study</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>A retrospective or prospective study in which the investigator observes the natural course of events with or without control groups (for example, cohort studies and case–control studies).</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Odds ratio"> <h2 class="h4">Odds ratio</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>Compares the odds (probability) of something happening in 1 group with the odds of it happening in another. An odds ratio of 1 shows that the odds of the event happening (for example, a person developing a disease or a treatment working) is the same for both groups. An odds ratio of greater than 1 means that the event is more likely in the first group than the second. An odds ratio of less than 1 means that the event is less likely in the first group than in the second group.</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Office for Digital Health"> <h2 class="h4">Office for Digital Health</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>This aims to accelerate NICE’s efforts to deliver innovation to the health and care system, working with partners to identify topics, develop evidence standards and support digital health policy development.</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Office for Market Access"> <h2 class="h4">Office for Market Access</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>This was the first point of contact for talking to NICE about future products. This service is now provided by <a href="https://www.nice.org.uk/Glossary?letter=N#NICEadvice">NICE Advice</a>.</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Off-label prescribing"> <h2 class="h4">Off-label prescribing</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>A medicine with an existing UK marketing authorisation that is used outside the terms of its marketing authorisation, for example, by indication, dose, route or patient population.</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Omics"> <h2 class="h4">Omics</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>Areas of biological science that study cellular molecules such as genes, proteins or small metabolites. The individual fields of study have names that end in -omics, such as genomics or proteomics</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="OPCS Classification of Interventions and Procedures"> <h2 class="h4">OPCS Classification of Interventions and Procedures</h2> <div class="media-body"> A classification system (originally developed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys) to enable data relating to procedures to be collected. Procedures covered by interventional procedures guidance are listed according to version 4.6 of the classification. </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Opportunity costs"> <h2 class="h4">Opportunity costs</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>The opportunity cost of investing in an intervention is the value of the benefits generated by other healthcare programmes that are displaced by its introduction. This may be best measured by the health benefits that could have been achieved had the money been spent on the next best alternative healthcare intervention.</p> </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Outcomes"> <h2 class="h4">Outcomes</h2> <div class="media-body"> The impact that a test, treatment, policy, programme or other intervention has on a person, group or population. Depending on the intervention, outcomes could include changes in knowledge and behaviour related to health or in people's health and wellbeing, the number of patients who fully recover from an illness or the number of hospital admissions, and an improvement or deterioration in someone's health, symptoms or situation. </div> </li> <li class="media" id="Overview"> <h2 class="h4">Overview</h2> <div class="media-body"> <p>At NICE, this is a document that summarises the findings from the evidence gathered for a guidance that is being developed. It is used to support the relevant committee in making draft recommendations.</p> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="content content-secondary"> <div class="zone zone-aside-second"> <ul class="nav nav-glossary"> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=A">A</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=B">B</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=C">C</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=D">D</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=E">E</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=F">F</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=G">G</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=H">H</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=I">I</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=J">J</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=K">K</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=L">L</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=M">M</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=N">N</a></li> <li class="active"> <a href="/Glossary?letter=O">O</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=P">P</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=Q">Q</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=R">R</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=S">S</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=T">T</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=U">U</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=V">V</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=W">W</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=X">X</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=Y">Y</a></li> <li > <a href="/Glossary?letter=Z">Z</a></li> </ul></div> </div>  </main>  <script async="" src="https://cdn.nice.org.uk/niceorg/js/app.js" type="text/javascript"></script>  <script src="https://cdn.nice.org.uk/V2/Scripts/twitter.bootstrap.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="https://cdn.nice.org.uk/V2/Scripts/NICE.bootstrap.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/Modules/Orchard.Resources/scripts/history.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="//cdn.nice.org.uk/V3/Scripts/nice/NICE.EventTracking.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/Themes/NICE.Bootstrap/scripts/niceorg/NICE.TopScroll.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="/Themes/NICE.Bootstrap/scripts/foot.combined-v1.10.9325.0.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script> var global_nav_config = { service: "", header: { skipLinkId: "content-start", search: { url: "/search", autocomplete: "/autocomplete?ajax=ajax", query: "", onSearching: window.globalNavSearchingHandler || null }, auth: { environment: "live" }, cookie: false }, footer: true }; </script> <script src="https://cdn.nice.org.uk/global-nav/global-nav.min.js" defer></script> <script src="//cdn.nice.org.uk/cookie-banner/cookie-banner.min.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> $(document).ajaxSend(function (event, jqxhr, settings) { if (settings.url.indexOf("?") >= 0) { settings.url = settings.url + "&ajax=ajax"; } else { settings.url = settings.url + "?ajax=ajax"; } }) if ('ontouchstart' in document.documentElement) { $('body').addClass('touch-screen-device'); } else { $('body').addClass('non-touch-screen-device'); } </script> <div id="global-nav-footer"></div> </body> </html>

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Glossary | NICE