A major problem for a hospital is managing the database
containing patient records. Blair General Hospital is
considering two policies:
Policy 1 Dispose of a patient’s records if he or she has not
reentered the hospital in the last five years.
Policy 1 Dispose of a patient’s records if he or she has not
reentered the hospital in the last ten years.
The following information is available: If a patient has
been hospitalized, there is a 30% chance he or she will
reenter the hospital during the next year. If a patient has not
been hospitalized during the last year, there is a 20% chance
he or she will be hospitalized during the next year. If a
patient has not been hospitalized during the last two years,
there is a 10% chance he or she will be hospitalized during
the next year. If a patient has not been hospitalized during
the last three years, there is a 5% chance he or she will be
hospitalized during the next year. If a patient has not been
hospitalized during the last four years, there is a 3% chance
he or she will be hospitalized during the next year. If a
patient has not been hospitalized during the last five years,
there is a 2% chance he or she will be hospitalized during
the next year. If a patient has not been hospitalized for at
least six years, there is a 1% chance he or she will be
hospitalized during the next year.
Assume that the hospital admits an average of 10,000
new patients each year. For each policy, estimate the number
of patient records that will be in the system.â€