--- title: "HEOR, Health Economics and Outcomes Research | MedTech Terms" description: "Research discipline that generates economic, clinical, and patient-reported evidence to support payer access, HTA submissions, and value demonstration." lang: en json-ld: | { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "DefinedTerm", "@id": "https://medtechterms.com/terms/heor#term", "name": "Health Economics and Outcomes Research", "alternateName": "HEOR", "description": "Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) is the multidisciplinary field that generates economic models (cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, budget impact), real-world evidence, and patient-reported outcomes data used by payers, HTA bodies, and health systems to assess a technology's value. 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[Home](/) 2. / 3. [Terms](/terms) 4. / 5. [Reimbursement](/terms?cat=Reimbursement) 6. / 7. Health Economics and Outcomes Research [All terms](/terms) Reimbursement [Clinical Evidence](/ecosystems/clinical-evidence)[Hospital Buyer & Reimbursement](/ecosystems/hospital-buyer)HEOR # Health Economics and Outcomes Research Research discipline that generates economic, clinical, and patient-reported evidence to support payer access, HTA submissions, and value demonstration. Reviewed by [Christian Espinosa, Founder, Blue Goat Cyber](/authors/christian-espinosa) Last reviewed May 9, 2026 ## Definition Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR) is the multidisciplinary field that generates economic models (cost-effectiveness, cost-utility, budget impact), [real-world evidence](/terms/real-world-evidence), and patient-reported outcomes data used by payers, [HTA](/terms/hta) bodies, and health systems to assess a technology's value. HEOR deliverables include the Global Value Dossier, AMCP Format submissions to US health plans, and country-specific HTA submissions (NICE, CADTH, IQWiG, HAS). What the regulation says Methodology references: ISPOR Good Practices, AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions v4.1, NICE Reference Case, [ICER](/terms/icer) Value Assessment Framework. CMS's [TCET](/terms/tcet) program explicitly requires evidence aligned with HEOR principles. ## What this means in practice Strong HEOR is the difference between coverage and non-coverage in single-payer systems and is rising in importance for US commercial payers. Increasingly, HEOR planning starts at preclinical/early clinical to ensure trial endpoints support the value story. Common pitfalls - • Designing pivotal trials around regulatory endpoints only and finding the dataset can't support the HEOR case. - • Treating HEOR as a post-launch activity instead of an evidence-generation strategy from Phase 1. ## Related terms Grouped by theme ### Editor's picks · Hand-selected related concepts [ Reimbursement Budget Impact Model(BIM) Financial model that estimates the total cost consequences of adopting a new technology to a payer's budget over a defined horizon. ](/terms/budget-impact-model)[ Reimbursement Health Technology Assessment(HTA) Systematic evaluation of clinical and economic value of a health technology. ](/terms/hta)[ Reimbursement Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio(ICER) Cost per additional unit of health outcome (often QALY) versus comparator. ](/terms/icer)[ Reimbursement Quality-Adjusted Life Year(QALY) Outcome metric combining length and quality of life used in HTA. ](/terms/qaly) ### More in Reimbursement · Same category [ Reimbursement RWE for Reimbursement Real-world evidence used to support coverage and payment decisions. ](/terms/real-world-evidence-reimbursement)[ Reimbursement 340B Drug Pricing Program(340B) Federal program providing discounted drugs to safety-net providers. ](/terms/340b)[ Reimbursement Ambulatory Payment Classification(APC) The Medicare grouping system that determines hospital outpatient payment amounts under OPPS, analogous to MS-DRGs for inpatient. ](/terms/apc)[ Reimbursement ASC Site-of-Service Shift Migration of procedures from hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers. ](/terms/asc-shift) Cited by Where this term appears across MedTech Terms. Ecosystems (2) - [Clinical Evidence](/ecosystems/clinical-evidence) - [Hospital Buyer & Reimbursement](/ecosystems/hospital-buyer) ## Primary references 3 sources Link health: 3 verified · last checked 2026-06-20 ISPOR· 1 AMCP· 1 AMA· 1 1. [1 ISPOR, Good Practices Verified ISPOR · ispor.org ](https://www.ispor.org/heor-resources/good-practices) 2. [2 AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions Verified AMCP · amcp.org ](https://www.amcp.org/Resource-Center/format-formulary-submissions) 3. [3 AMA CPT Resources Verified AMA · ama-assn.org ](https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/cpt) Inline markers like \[1\] jump to the matching reference above. Sponsor note ### Need cybersecurity expertise on a connected-device launch? Blue Goat Cyber helps MedTech teams ship connected products that hospital security teams will actually procure. [Book a 30-minute discovery session](https://go.bluegoatcyber.com/meetings/blue-goat-cyber/discovery-session) - No obligation - Expert-led from minute one - NDA available on request MedTech Terms is a community resource sponsored by [Blue Goat Cyber](https://bluegoatcyber.com). Definitions are independent of any vendor. On this term Category Reimbursement Acronym HEOR Sources 3 Updated 5/9/2026 [Compare with another term](/compare?a=heor) Learn in 60 seconds Card Lesson Quiz Research discipline that generates economic, clinical, and patient-reported evidence to support payer access, HTA submissions, and value demonstration. - · Strong HEOR is the difference between coverage and non-coverage in single-payer systems and is rising in importance for US commercial payers. - · Increasingly, HEOR planning starts at preclinical/early clinical to ensure trial endpoints support the value story. - · HEOR deliverables include the Global Value Dossier, AMCP Format submissions to US health plans, and country-specific HTA submissions (NICE, CADTH, IQWiG, HAS). Remember this Watch out: Designing pivotal trials around regulatory endpoints only and finding the dataset can't support the HEOR case. Related terms - [Health Technology Assessment(HTA) ](/terms/hta) - [Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio(ICER) ](/terms/icer) - [Quality-Adjusted Life Year(QALY) ](/terms/qaly) - [Budget Impact Model(BIM) ](/terms/budget-impact-model) - [RWE for Reimbursement ](/terms/real-world-evidence-reimbursement) You may also need Auto-suggested from Reimbursement and shared keywords. - [Real-World Data(RWD) ](/terms/rwd) - [Contract Research Organization(CRO) ](/terms/cro) - [Coverage with Evidence Development(CED) ](/terms/ced) - [Protecting Access to Medicare Act(PAMA) ](/terms/pama) - [HITECH Act(HITECH) ](/terms/hitech-act) - [Investigator-Initiated Trial(IIT) ](/terms/investigator-initiated-trial) [All Reimbursement terms](/terms?cat=Reimbursement) MedTech Terms An authoritative, plain-language reference for the regulatory, quality, cybersecurity, and software terms that shape modern medical devices. 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