1. Over the past 100 years, the major source of hospital revenues has changed three times. Name these types of payments, and explain why each one gave way to the next. 2. What does it mean for Medicare to act as a “prudent buyer” of hospital services? Does its doing so strengthen or weaken Medicare as a social insurance program?

Among the principal ways of paying physicians in the United States, the strongest incentive to reduce the volume of services provided is produced by: (a) fee for service. (b) salary. (c) capitation. (d) RBRVS.

The DRG system in hospitals: (a) is another name for per diem payment, in which a hospital receives a fixed payment per patient day. (b) refers to drug rehabilitation groups, organized by managed care to save expense on behavioral/mental health services. (c) is a retrospective payment system based on what costs were incurred in treating patients in certain disease groups. (d) is used by Medicare […]

In a typical private health insurance program, a participant might be required to meet the first $300 of medical bills each year before the insurance begins to pay. This is best described as: (a) a copayment requirement. (b) a coinsurance requirement. (c) a capitation requirement. (d) a deductible requirement.

Which of the following is not an example of genuine price discrimination? (a) A hospital supply company charging a different price to a group of hospitals purchasing large quantities collectively and a single hospital buying smaller amounts of the same items (b) A hospital charging a different price for treating HMO patients and traditionally insured patients with the same condition (c) A physician charging a […]

1. Private philanthropy is the largest source of capital for funding the construction and expansion of hospitals. True or False? 2. Who pays for most of the care in hospitals? Are the people who pay the bills the same as the people who receive the care?

Misericordia Hospital had a 20 percent increase in admissions from 1995 to 2000. Total patient care costs went from $50 million to $61 million. Does Misericordia show evidence of economies of scale or diseconomies of scale? Could other factors besides the number of admissions affect the costs of care?

This chapter made a point about separating oxygen cylinders from acetylene cylinders in storage either by distance or by a noncombustible barrier at least 5 feet high. Search the OSHA standards for a provision dealing with this problem. Check the database on the Companion Website to determine whether this is a frequently cited standard.

1.  What is the purpose of FMEA? Construct a fault-tree diagram describing potential causes of fire in paint spray areas. Compare your analysis with others in the class.  2.  Construct a fault-tree diagram that describes the ways in which a pair of dice can be thrown to “roll seven.” Calculate the “risk” or chances of rolling seven.

What minimum nominal breaking strength is specified by safety standards to be suitable for the application described in Exercise 14.17? Exercise 14.17: 14.17 A 2000-pound payload is supported by the crane block-and-tackle assembly shown in Figure 14.19. In addition to the payload, the load-carrying sheave weighs 100 pounds. Calculate the approximate load on the wire rope. How many parts of rope are used in the […]

1.  Why are some safety and health standards cited more frequently than others? 2.  What else, besides frequency of citation, does a safety and health manager need to know about safety and health standards? 3.  Should safety and health managers attempt to eliminate all workplace hazards? Why or why not?

1.  List some example hardware details of engineering designs that might be included in a documentation of process technology. 2.  Explain the term what-if analysis.  Give an example of how plant location can affect the analysis for process safety.  How is the human element considered in process safety analysis?

In Exercise 17.15, if all the current flowing through the hot wire would pass through a person’s heart muscle, would the current likely be fatal? Exercise 17.15: 17.15 A certain string of Christmas tree lights has eight bulbs, each rated at 5 watts. If there is no ground fault, how much current flows through the hot wire at the receptacle plug? How much flows through […]

What are OSHA’s general concerns about fire brigades? Justify your answer with reference to OSHA fire protection standards. Include a discussion of OSHA’s enforcement activity pertaining to fire brigades. Cite inspection statistics.  Why are four-legged slings rated no higher than three-legged slings?

This chapter states that the hazard from flammable acetylene can become “about five times as serious” in the presence of pure oxygen. Justify this position using principles and knowledge from other chapters in this book.  Explain the difference between a continuity tester and a circuit tester.

1.  What litigation risks should a firm consider if it terminates employees because of alcohol or drug use? Explain how this risk is affected by a drug and alcohol abuse policy within the company. 2.  Is alcohol and drug abuse a significant factor in workplace homicides? Why or why not?  How has preemployment testing become a controversial issue? 2.43 What basic plant procedures are considered […]

Name some traditional methods of detecting the presence of dangerous air contaminants and explain advantages and disadvantages of each. Name three basic approaches to measuring air-contaminant exposures.  Do a search on the Internet to determine currently known diameters and lengths of typical carbon nanotubes. Compute the aspect ratio for these dimensions.

1.  Check out the Internet for details regarding the Phillips Petroleum disaster in October 1989. 2.  Study international disasters, such as Chernobyl and Bhopal. Which was worse? Are these the worst industrial disasters ever? Why or why not? 3.  Use library resources and the format of Case Study 6.1 to gather information from standard chemical references to document the dangers associated with hydrochloric acid.

In a one-time inspection of a facility, how will an insurance representative be able to determine that a temporary spraying area or a so-called “touch-up area” is really a more permanent arrangement?  Under what circumstances are automatic sprinkler systems required for paint spraying areas?

Sometimes industries voluntarily initiate actions to control exposures to levels even lower than those specified by OSHA standards. Examine a noteworthy example of this initiated by the Lead Industries Association, Inc. (LIA). What other industry association joined with LIA in this initiative? Specifically what target improvement became the 5-year goal of this initiative?