Why we don't come: Patient perceptions on no-shows, published in the Annals of Family Medicine in December 2004, reports that 15 of 34 patients (44%) interviewed cited lack of respect by the health-care system as a reason for failing to keep doctor's appointments in the past. Specifically, being kept waiting for an appointment, in the waiting room, and in the exam room were taken as evidence of insufficient respect.48
a. Explain why a formal test would not be necessary in order to decide if a majority of all patients miss appointments because of perceived lack of respect.
b. Use software to produce a 95% confidence interval for the proportion of all patients who miss appointments because of perceived lack of respect.48
c. If a higher level of confidence were desired, would the interval be wider or narrower?