【bg fish】03月08日习作Argument203--By Sansouci

SansouciUID: 2755036

Argument No.203

The following appeared in a newspaper feature story.
"At the small, nonprofit hospital in the town of Saluda, the average length of a patient's stay is two days; at the large, for-profit hospital in the nearby city of Megaville, the average patient stay is six days. Also, the cure rate among patients in the Saluda hospital is about twice that of the Megaville hospital. The Saluda hospital has more employees per patient than the hospital in Megaville, and there are few complaints about service at the local hospital. Such data indicate that treatment in smaller, nonprofit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in larger, for-profit hospitals."

In this analysis, the arguer claims that hospital is more economical and of better quality which is small and non-profit. To substantiate the conclusion, the arguer makes a comparison between a small , non-profit hospital in the town of Saluda and a larger, for-profit hospital in the nearly city of Megaville, from the four aspects: the average length of a patient’s stay, cure rate, each of employees and complaints number. A careful examination of this argument would reveal how groundless the conclusion is.

First of all, the time length of a patient’s stay is not a good indication of the quality of treatment in the hospital. The possible reason is that the time length of a patient’s stay is determined by severely sickness degree. It also can explain why the average length of a patient’s stay in Saluda is much shorter than in Megaville. The author ought to make careful and clear differentiation between the time length of a patient’s stay and the quality of treatment in the hospital before we could evaluate if the inference that is justified.

Secondly, there are myriad of factors which might also explain the shorter length of patient stay and higher cure rate in the Saluda hospital. From essence of Saluda hospital, it is a small and non-profit one, which indicates that there would have exacting medical treatment, so that if there is a severity illness patient cannot stay Saluda hospital too long than transfer other well-apparatus hospital. Without any further consideration about these factors, the author could not convince me that treatment in smaller, non-profit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in larger, for-profit hospitals.


What’s more, the author refers to an employee-patient ratio, however, a high employees per patient may just indicate organization inefficiency at Saluda instead better quality and more economical at Saluda.

At last, the author commits a fallacy of hasty generalization. As everyone knows that the large, for-profit hospital must assemble with superior medical treatment and has ability of provide more comfortable services, which can adapt vary kinds of examinations for patients with different disease degree. Thus, there is unbelievable that treatment in smaller, non-profit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in larger, for-profit hospitals.

To conclude, the argument is not persuasive as it stands. To make it logically acceptable, the arguer must provide evidence to rule out the patients’ sick level, apparatus in small, non-profit hospitals is enough to adaptable to every patient, then able to convince me that surely small, non-profit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in large, for-profit hospitals.

wowoyuweiweiUID: 2754055

In this analysis, the arguer claims that hospital is more economical and of better quality which is small and non-profit. To substantiate the conclusion, the arguer makes a comparison between a small , non-profit hospital in the town of Saluda and a larger, for-profit hospital in the nearly city of Megaville, from the four aspects: the average length of a patient’s stay, cure rate, each of employees and complaints number. A careful examination of this argument would reveal how groundless the conclusion is.
First of all, the time length of a patient’s stay is not a good indication of the quality of treatment in the hospital. The possible reason is that the time length of a patient’s stay is determined by severely sickness degree. （还有一种可能是这两天的钱已经很高了，付不起。）It also can explain why the average length of a patient’s stay in Saluda is much shorter than in Megaville. The author ought to make careful and clear differentiation between the time length of a patient’s stay and the quality of treatment in the hospital before we could evaluate if the inference that is justified.
Secondly, there are myriad of factors which might also explain the shorter length of patient stay and higher cure rate in the Saluda hospital. From essence of Saluda hospital, it is a small and non-profit one, which indicates that there would have exacting medical treatment, so that if there is a severity illness patient cannot stay Saluda hospital too long than transfer other well-apparatus hospital. Without any further consideration about these factors, the author could not convince me that treatment in smaller, non-profit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in larger, for-profit hospitals.（这个可以和上一段合起来）
What’s more, the author refers to an employee-patient ratio, however, a high employees per patient may just indicate organization inefficiency at Saluda instead better quality and more economical at Saluda.（有时间的话，这段还可以在多说说，我觉得上面两段可以合起来，稍微压缩一点）
At last, the author commits a fallacy of hasty generalization. As everyone knows that the large, for-profit hospital must assemble with superior medical treatment and has ability of provide more comfortable services, which can adapt vary kinds of examinations for patients with different disease degree. Thus, there is unbelievable that treatment in smaller, non-profit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in larger, for-profit hospitals.
To conclude, the argument is not persuasive as it stands. To make it logically acceptable, the arguer must provide evidence to rule out the patients’ sick level, apparatus in small, non-profit hospitals is enough to adaptable to every patient, then able to convince me that surely small, non-profit hospitals is more economical and of better quality than treatment in large, for-profit hospitals.

我认为还可以说，这两家医院没有代表性，也许只是个别例子。
治愈率可以和病痛的程度有关。