Dr. Massy, who specializes in internal medicine, wants to analyze his sales mix to find out how the time of his physician assistant, Consuela Ortiz, can be used to generate the highest operating income.
Ortiz sees patients in Dr. Massy's office, consults with patients over the telephone, and conducts one daily weight-loss support group attended by up to 50 patients. Statistics for the three services are as follows:
Office Visits
Phone Calls
Weight-Loss Support Group
Maximum number
of patient billings per day
20
40
50
Hours per billing
.25
.10
1.0
Billing rate
$50
$25
$10
Variable costs
$25
$12
$5
Ortiz works seven hours a day.
Required
1. Determine the best sales mix. Rank the services offered in order of their profitability.
2. Based on the ranking in I, how much time should Ortiz spend on each service in a day? (Hint: Remember to consider the maximum number of patient billings per day.) What would be the daily total contribution margin generated by Ortiz?
3. Dr. Massy believes the ranking is incorrect. He knows that the daily 60-minute meeting of the weight-loss support group has 50 patients and should continue to be offered. If the new ranking for the services is (1) weight-loss support group, (2) phone calls, and (3) office visits, how much time should Ortiz spend on each service in a day? What would be the total contribution margin generated by Ortiz, assuming the weight-loss support group has the maximum number of patient billings?
4. Manager Insight: Which ranking would you recommend? What additional amount of total contribution margin would be generated if your recommendation is accepted?