Two types of visits are provided by the Durham Health Clinic, first-time visits and return visits. Table 8-5 provides the processing time for each work station and the available staff hours per week. Determine the production frontiers for this clinic and indicate which station should be expanded to increase the overall capacity of the clinic. Which service station could be reduced?

Table 8-5 Processing Time and Staff Hours Data for Durham Health Clinic (Exercise 14-1)

Time estimates (hours)

Work station First Visit Return Visit

Reception/discharge 0.25 0.12

Nursing and testing 0.40 0.38

Medical exam and treatment 0.50 0.25

How would your answers change if nursing and testing time was increased to 0.50 hours for both first and repeat visits, and medical exam and treatment time was reduced to 0.30 hours for a first visit and 0.20 hours for a return visit?