CADTH – Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
An independent organisation that reviews evidence on medicines and health technologies to support informed decisions made by Canada’s publicly funded health care systems. 

Cost-effectiveness / cost‑effectiveness analysis
An economic analysis used to compare how much health benefit different treatments provide for the money spent to help decide which ones should be publicly funded.

Cost‑utility analysis
A type of cost-effectiveness analysis that uses QALYs to compare the value for money of different treatments.

GDP – Gross Domestic Product
The total monetary value of all the final goods and services from a country over a period, this is used to measure a country’s economic growth

Health expenditure
The total amount a country’s government spends on public health, including hospital care, visits to health professionals, medicines, and other services and support.

Market Access Index (Score)
A single number that sums up how well a country provides public access to new medicines, compared with the best‑performing country (in this case Germany), so results can be easily compared.

Modern medicines / new medicines
Recently developed prescription medicines, often using newer science or technology, that have been approved for use and are important additions to treatment options.

NICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (United Kingdom)
An independent body that advises the NHS on which medicines and treatments should be funded, based on their benefits, risks and value for money.

OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
An international intergovernmental organisation mainly consisting of high‑income countries that works together to promote economic growth, trade, and improved social well-being through shared data, analysis, and policy standards.

PBAC – Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee
An Australian independent advisory committee which makes recommendations to the Minister of Health and Aged Care regarding which medicines should be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

PBS – Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (Australia)
Australia’s national programme that provides subsidised access to prescription medicines

pCPA – pan‑Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance
A group that negotiates medicine prices on behalf of Canada’s provincial and territorial governments so they can get better value from public funding.

Pharmac (New Zealand)
The government agency that decides which medicines and related products are funded for use in New Zealand’s public health system.

Publicly funded medicines
Medicines that are paid for, or heavily subsidised, by the public health system so people can get them at low cost or no cost, rather than paying the full price themselves.

QALY – quality‑adjusted life year
A way of measuring the benefit of a treatment that combines how much longer people live and how good their quality of life is during that time.

TGA – Therapeutic Goods Administration
The Australian regulatory authority for medicines and medical devices.