2.100 Which hospital is safer?
Insurance companies and consumers are interested in the performance of hospitals. The government releases data about patient outcomes in hospitals that can be useful in making informed health care decisions. Here is a two-way table of data on the survival of patients after surgery in two hospitals. All patients undergoing surgery in a recent time period are included. “Survived” means that the patient lived at least six weeks following surgery.
112
| Hospital A | Hospital B | |
|---|---|---|
| Died | 63 | 16 |
| Survived | 2037 | 784 |
| Total | 2100 | 800 |
What percent of Hospital A patients died? What percent of Hospital B patients died? These are the numbers one might see reported in the media.