Recently the Health Services Purchasing Organization started a patient-focused funding (PFF) program in British Columbia. One component of this program included financial incentives for hospitals that operate more efficiently, which is associated with the patient average length of stay (ALOS). In a random sample of 25 patients with congestive heart failure at Vancouver Coastal Health, the resulting mean ALOS (in days) was 9.9.19 The standard deviation was s = 3.7 days and assume that the underlying distribution is normal.
a. Find a 99% confidence interval for the true mean ALOS for patients with congestive heart failure.
b. Suppose the Health Services Purchasing Organization will award hospitals performance funding money if the mean ALOS for these patients is less than 12 days. Is there any evidence to suggest that Vancouver Coastal Health will receive performance funding money? Justify your answer.
One factor in rating a National Hockey League team is the mean weight of its players. A random sample of players from five teams was obtained. The weight (in pounds) of each player was carefully measured, and the resulting data are given in the following table.
a. Assuming normality, find a 95% confidence interval for the true mean weight of players for each hockey team.
b. The sample size for Boston and San Jose is the same. Why is the 95% confidence interval for the weight of San Jose players wider?
c. If the true mean weight for two teams is different, then it is likely that there will be a more physical game when the two teams meet. Is there any evidence to suggest that the true mean player weights are different from Boston and San Jose? Justify your answer.