There are a number of techniques to help people stop smoking, but their cost and effectiveness vary widely. One accepted measure of effectiveness of a program is “percentage of enrollees quitting.” The table in this problem shows several techniques touted as effective stop-smoking methods, some historical data on the approximate cost of each program per person, and the percentage of people smoke-free 3 months after the program ended. The Cancer Society provides annual cost-offset funding to cancer patients so more people can af­ford these programs. A large clinic in St. Louis has the capacity to treat each year the number of people shown. If the clinic plans to submit a pro­posal to the Cancer Society to treat a specified number of people annually, estimate the amount of money the

Question

clinic should ask for in its proposal to do the following:



(a) Conduct programs at the capacity level for the technique with the lowest cost-effectiveness ratio.

(b) Offer programs using as many techniques as possible to treat up to 1100 people per year using the most cost-effective techniques.

Answer 1

(a) Methods are independent. Calculate CER values, rank in increasing order, select lowest CER, determine total cost.

CERAcupuncture = 700/ 9 = 78
CERSubliminal = 150/1 = 150
CERAversion = 1700/10 = 170
CEROut-patient = 2500/39 = 64
CERIn-patient = 2800/41 = 68
CERNRT = 1300/20 = 65

Lowest CER is 64 for out-patient. Annual program cost is

2500(400) = $1,000,000

(b) Rank by CER and select techniques to treat up to 1100 people. Select out-patient, NRT, and in-patient techniques, yielding a total request of $2,120,000 to treat 1050 patients per year.