Busy hospitals and readmission rates

According to recent data collected by researchers at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, there is a correlation between hospital readmission rates and how full the hospital was at the time of discharge. This suggests that many patients went home earlier than they should have.

“The main point is that the discharge rate goes up as the beds begin to fill up, which is what you’d expect to a certain degree,” said David Anderson, co-author and researcher for the studies. “First reason is if you have extra beds available, people stay an extra night as a precautionary measure. If beds are in high demand, you might send people home earlier than you may have if there were extra beds. Many patients may have not been ready to go home, however, it’s not done on purpose – the patients who were sent home appeared to be healthy.”

The correlational value was r = .257 of the 100 patients studied. Which of the following would be the best recommendation to the researchers?

Select one:

a. Statistically significant, however, the strength is rather weak.

b. Not statistically significant, and the strength is rather weak.

c. This study is flawed.

d. Not statistically significant, however, the strength is noteworthy.

e. Statistically significant, with a large enough sample size to conclude the findings