Statistics homework

Scenario Background

Grey-Sloan Memorial recently expanded the hospital to provide private rooms for most patients. In the past, more than one patient shared a room, which posed an issue concerning infection control, HIPAA privacy violations (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2015), and hindered the healing process. Providing separate rooms eliminates cohabitating uninfected and infected patients. Noises from other patient's guests and sounds from the television are reduced; also the medical team treatment discussions can not be overheard by others. Additionally, Grey-Sloan Memorial has adopted practices and suggestions in accordance with the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare) (Ref) such as implementing discharge coordinators to help prevent unnecessary hospital readmissions, additional infection control procedures to decrease the number of hospital-acquired infections, and increase patient satisfaction by making the patients and families an active part of their own care and decisions.

Business problem

When Grey-Sloan increased the number of private rooms, it decreased the number patients it could serve. Expanding the hospital's size helps, but there remains a shortfall. To improve the hospital's throughput it needs to increase the patient enrollment with incentives to customers: insurance companies and primary health care providers. And, the hospital's output needs to improve with higher the bed utilization. Grey-Sloan's options are: change operational procedures, increase staff training or hire staff with new skills, add additional specialty equipment, and/or reconfigure the physical layout of the hospital. The result is to increase the range of services offered (independent variable IV) and cause the bed utilization (dependent variable DV) to increase.

Research Question and Hypothesis statements

RQ: What change in hospital service (IV) would best increase bed utilization (DV)?

H0: Bed utilization (DV) does not increase with changes in hospital services (IV)

Baker, Sandy. (2014). How Do Obamacare Affect Doctors, Nurses, and Hospitals? Retrieved on March 21, 2015 from https://www.trustedchoice.com/insurance-articles/life-health/how-obamacare-affects-doctors/

Kaiser Family Foundation. (2015). Summary of Coverage Provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Retrieved on March 21, 2015 from: http://kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/summary-of-coverage-provisions-in-the-patient/