Assessment
A clinician’s process for understanding a concern and deciding what should happen next. Paying for an assessment does not guarantee a diagnosis, prescription or particular treatment.
Read the full explanation →A little less jargon
Healthcare terms.
Human explanations.
Look up the words that can make a healthcare decision harder than it needs to be.
Plain-language explanations of the terms used in our guides. Each definition links to a fuller guide and its original sources.
30 terms
Authorisation
Permission for a medicine to be supplied for specified uses under its licence. This is a different question from NHS funding, local availability or suitability for one person.
Read the full explanation →Baseline price
The amount used as the starting point for a comparison. Establish whether it is the standard price, a first-order offer or a price available only to certain customers.
Read the full explanation →Clinical review
An appointment or review process in which a clinician considers ongoing care. Ask whether its cost is included and whether it is required for further prescriptions.
Read the full explanation →Consultation fee
The amount charged for an appointment. Tests, reports, prescriptions, medicines and follow-up can be separate items, so an appointment price is not necessarily a complete care budget.
Read the full explanation →Contrast
A substance used in some imaging examinations to help show particular structures. The clinical team decides whether it is needed; ask whether the quoted scan fee covers it.
Read the full explanation →Customer mode
A source’s category for an offer, such as first order, returning customer or subscription. Prices from different modes may have different eligibility conditions.
Read the full explanation →Delivered total
The amount payable with delivery included. A medicine price with unknown delivery charges should not be described as a delivered total.
Read the full explanation →Dispensing
The pharmacy process of supplying a prescribed medicine. The pharmacy’s medicine charge and the prescribing service’s administration fee can be separate.
Read the full explanation →Eligibility
The conditions for access to a service or offer. Meeting a general entry rule does not replace clinical assessment or guarantee a local appointment.
Read the full explanation →Excess
The amount an insured person may need to pay under their policy before or alongside the insurer’s contribution. The amount and when it applies depend on the policy.
Read the full explanation →First-order offer
A price available under introductory conditions. Check the provider’s definition of a new customer and what applies to the next order.
Read the full explanation →Formulation
The form a medicine takes, such as a tablet or an injection. Strengths and prices for different formulations should not be treated as directly interchangeable.
Read the full explanation →HC2
A certificate giving full help with specified NHS health costs under the Low Income Scheme. Check its validity dates and the rules for the item or service.
Read the full explanation →HC3
A certificate giving limited help with specified NHS health costs. It sets out contributions and does not provide free NHS prescriptions.
Read the full explanation →Integrated care board
An organisation responsible for planning and funding specified NHS services in an area of England. Local referral routes and commissioned services can differ.
Read the full explanation →Itemised quote
A breakdown of separate charges and inclusions. It helps distinguish the consultation, tests, reports, medicines and follow-up instead of combining everything in one unclear headline.
Read the full explanation →Maintenance price
A source-defined category for some continuing treatment offers. The label alone does not establish clinical eligibility, dose or what the provider includes.
Read the full explanation →Pre-authorisation
Approval an insurer may require before an appointment, test or treatment. Confirm the exact service and provider; a referral alone does not establish insurance cover.
Read the full explanation →Prescription charge
An NHS charge that applies under the relevant national rules unless an exemption applies. It is different from the price charged for a medicine on a private prescription.
Read the full explanation →Referral
A request for another service or professional to assess or treat someone. The receiving service considers its criteria and arrangements; a referral is not the same as a confirmed appointment.
Read the full explanation →Repeat-order price
The amount for a later purchase under the applicable customer conditions. It may differ from an introductory offer, especially if the prescribed product or supply changes.
Read the full explanation →Saved source result
A previously retrieved source observation retained for a limited period when fresh access fails. Its observation and source-check dates must remain visible.
Read the full explanation →Self-pay
Private care paid for directly rather than through an insurance claim or NHS funding. Ask for a written estimate covering all planned stages.
Read the full explanation →Self-referral
Contacting a service to request access without first obtaining a GP referral. The service still assesses whether its pathway is appropriate.
Read the full explanation →Shared care
An agreed arrangement dividing responsibility between clinicians or services. A request for shared care does not mean that another clinician has accepted it.
Read the full explanation →Source verification date
The date the original source records for checking its information. Fetching a feed today does not turn an old verification date into a new one.
Read the full explanation →Supply period
The time covered by the prescribed quantity supplied. Confirm the quantity and intended period instead of assuming that every quoted pack means one calendar month.
Read the full explanation →Titration
A period in which a clinician reviews and adjusts treatment according to the care plan. Appointments, monitoring and medicine charges may need their own budget.
Read the full explanation →Whole-care budget
A practical estimate covering assessment, investigations, treatment and follow-up. An unknown charge should remain unknown until it is confirmed, rather than being silently counted as zero.
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