Insurance company, part 2.

An insurance company that provides medical insurance is concerned with recent data.

They suspect that patients who undergo surgery at large hospitals have their discharges delayed for various reasons—

which results in increased medical costs to the insurance company. The recent data for area hospitals and two types of surgery (major and minor) are shown in the following table.

Discharge Delayed Large Hospital Small Hospital Procedure Major Surgery 120 of 800 10 of 50 Minor Surgery 10 of 200 20 of 250

a) Overall, for what percent of patients was discharge delayed?

b) Were the percentages different for major and minor surgery?

c) Overall, what were the discharge delay rates at each hospital?

d) What were the delay rates at each hospital for each kind of surgery?

e) The insurance company is considering advising their clients to use large hospitals for surgery to avoid postsurgical complications. Do you think they should do this?

f) Explain, in your own words, why this confusion occurs.