Isidore Altman

Patient Load and Volume of Medical Services

Measurement of the volume of medical services received by the population is needed in appraising the extent to which the demand for medical services is related to the supply of physicians. This measurement is important in a comprehensive study of the distribution of physicians whether our concern is with the general problem of geographic maldistribution or with the particular problem of apportionment of available manpower between the civilian

Certain Characteristics of Urban Housing and Their Relation to Illness and Accidents: Summary of Findings of the National Health Survey

LTHOUGH more complete reports on the subject are in preparation,2 it seems appropriate at this time to summarize the results of the National Health Survey bearing on the adequacy of urban housing and on the relation of housing to illness and accidents. The presentation will be in the form of simple illustrative charts3 and such discussion of them as is necessary for clarity. The National Health Survey was conducted from November, 1935 to March, 1936 for the purpose of obtaining information on serious illness, accidents, impairments, and medical care received, in relation to social and economic factors. Manifestly, one of the most important of these factors is housing, and, accordingly, certain information on housing was obtained and has been related to the illness record. The survey was made within the city limits (1930) of eighty-three cities in eighteen States (and in a limited number of rural areas), the cities being chosen to be reasonably representa-

Hospital income and expense ratios, 1951

A RECENT ANALYSIS of the income and expanse of nonprofit short-term general hospitals in the United States (1) shows that hospital size (in terms of number of beds) is directly associated with the number of services offered by the hospital. The number of different types of services offered is directly associated with expense per patient-day. When expense per patient-day is high, the hospital is most likely to find little surplus left after total expense is deducted from total income.