$$\textbf{ Problem Solving}\text{\ You are a healthcare worker in a clinic in the tropics. More people than usual have recently come into the clinic suffering from malaria.}$$

$$\textbf{\ \ a.}\text{ What are some questions you could ask your patients to try to track the source of this outbreak of malaria?}$$

$$\textbf{\ \ b.}\text{ What suggestions can you make to help reduce the occurrence of malaria in this area?}$$

In the first year after its release, 83 percent of emergency room doctors were estimated to have tried Dermabond glue (an alternative to sutures in some situations). (a) What kind of probability is this? (b) How was it probably estimated? (c) Why might the estimate be inaccurate? (Data are from Modern Healthcare 29, no. 32 [August 9, 1999], p. 70.)

Suppose that Congress passes a law requiring employers to provide employees some benefit (such as healthcare) that raises the cost of an employee by $\$ 4$ per hour.

What effect does this employer mandate have on the demand for labor? (In answering this and the following questions, be quantitative when you can.)

Imagine that your job as a healthcare professional is to take a blood sample from a patient and store it in a small container in a refrigerator until it is picked up for analysis in the hospital lab. You might have to put on gloves and a mask, use a plastic syringe with a metal needle, store the sample in a test tube or vial, and place it in a cold refrigerator. Pick five objects you might encounter during the process and decide if they are made of naturally occurring or synthetic materials.

The monthly Medicare Part B healthcare premium for most beneficiaries ages $65$ and older has increased significantly since 1975. The monthly premium has increased from about $\$ 7$ in 1975 to $\$ 110.50$ in 2011. The following exponential function models the premium increases:

$$M(x)=7(1.080)^x,$$

where $x$ is the number of years since 1975. Estimate the monthly Medicare Part B premium in 1985, 1992, and 2002. Round to the nearest dollar.

MGM Resorts International owns and operates hotels and casinos including the MGM Grand and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of a recent year, MGM reported accounts receivable of $415,654,000 and allowance for doubtful accounts of$93,760,000. Johnson & Johnson manufactures and sells a wide range of healthcare products including Band-Aids and Tylenol. As of a recent year, Johnson & Johnson reported accounts receivable of $10,114,000,000 and allowance for doubtful accounts of$340,000,000.

a. Compute the percentage of the allowance for doubtful accounts to the accounts receivable for MGM Resorts International. Round to one decimal place.

Circle the BEST answer.
Preventing healthcare-associated infections involves
a Sterilizing all care items
b Over-prescribing antibiotics
c Hand hygiene before and after giving care
d Using Transmission-Based Precautions for all persons

Is it true that an apple a day keeps the doctor away? A study designed and conducted by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (results published in the Journal of the American Medical Association) considered 8,399 American adults of whom 756 reported that they ate a small apple a day. The rest did not eat apples or ate them infrequently. The number of healthcare visits in the previous 36 months was recorded. Conduct a test to determine whether the adage is true.

One of the more common adverse effects of cancer chemotherapy is the destruction of leukocytes. Before his next scheduled chemotherapy treatment, a patient undergoes a blood test called an absolute neutrophil count (ANC), which reveals that his neutrophil count is 1900 cells per microliter. Would his healthcare team be likely to proceed with his chemotherapy treatment? Why?

Hospital length of stay. Health insurers and the federal government are both putting pressure on hospitals to shorten the average length of stay (LOS) of their patients. The average LOS in the United States is $4.5$ days (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief, October 2014). A random sample of 20 hospitals in one state had a mean LOS of $3.8$ days and a standard deviation of $1.2$ days. What is meant by the phrase "90% confidence interval"?

MGM Resorts International owns and operates hotels and casinos including the MGM Grand and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of a recent year, MGM reported accounts receivable of $415,654,000 and allowance for doubtful accounts of$93,760,000. Johnson & Johnson manufactures and sells a wide range of healthcare products including Band-Aids and Tylenol. As of a recent year, Johnson & Johnson reported accounts receivable of $10,114,000,000 and allowance for doubtful accounts of$340,000,000.

c. Discuss possible reasons for the difference in the two ratios computed in (a) and (b).

Let's say the president of the United States wishes to estimate the percentage of the population that agrees with his present stance on changes to the healthcare system. The estimate must be within.04 of the actual proportion, according to the president. Count on a 95% level of certainty. The political advisers to the president located a comparable poll from two years prior that showed 60% of respondents were in favour of making changes to the health care system. Using this, find how large of a sample would be necessary if no estimate were available for the proportion supporting current policy?

The latest available data showed health expenditures were $\$ 8086$ per person in the United States or $17.6 \%$ of gross domestic product. Use $\$ 8086$ as the population mean and suppose a survey research firm will take a sample of 100 people to investigate the nature of their health expenditures. Suppose the population standard deviation is $\$ 2500$.

a. Show the sampling distribution of the mean amount of healthcare expenditures for a sample of 100 people.

MGM Resorts International owns and operates hotels and casinos including the MGM Grand and the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. As of a recent year, MGM reported accounts receivable of $415,654,000 and allowance for doubtful accounts of$93,760,000. Johnson & Johnson manufactures and sells a wide range of healthcare products including Band-Aids and Tylenol. As of a recent year, Johnson & Johnson reported accounts receivable of $10,114,000,000 and allowance for doubtful accounts of$340,000,000. c. Discuss possible reasons for the difference in the two ratios computed in (a) and (b)