Question: Business and Management 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. The standard deviation was σ = 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.