Understanding Average Daily Clinic Cases: The Mean is the Appropriate Measure
For a clinic seeing approximately 10 cases per day, the mean (A) is the most appropriate statistical measure to understand the average number of daily cases, as it provides the arithmetic average that accounts for all observations and is the standard measure for central tendency in clinical epidemiology. 1
Why the Mean is the Correct Choice
The mean represents the sum of all daily case counts divided by the number of days observed, making it the most straightforward and universally understood measure of "average" in healthcare settings. 1 This measure is specifically recommended in clinical epidemiology for describing central tendency of population distributions when assessing healthcare utilization patterns. 1
Key Statistical Considerations
Central tendency measures serve different purposes:
Mean: Provides the arithmetic average of all observations, accounting for every data point's contribution. 1 This is the standard measure when discussing "average" in clinical contexts and resource planning. 1
Median: Represents the middle value when data are ordered, useful when distributions are highly skewed with extreme outliers. 1 For clinic volumes around 10 cases daily, extreme skewing is unlikely. 1
Mode: Identifies the most frequently occurring value, which has limited utility for continuous variables like daily case counts. 1
Range: Describes dispersion (minimum to maximum values) rather than central tendency, so it does not represent an "average." 1
Practical Application in Clinic Settings
When monitoring daily clinic volumes, the mean should be calculated and reported with its standard deviation to provide complete information about both central tendency and variability. 1 For example, if a clinic sees 8,10,9,11, and 12 cases over five days, the mean would be 10 cases per day (SD ±1.4). 1
When to Consider Alternative Measures
The median becomes more appropriate only if your clinic experiences highly skewed distributions with extreme outliers - for instance, if most days have 8-10 cases but occasional days have 50+ cases due to special clinics or mass screening events. 1 In such scenarios, the median provides a more representative "typical" day. 1
Clinical Epidemiology Context
Healthcare resource allocation and operational planning rely on mean values for:
- Staffing requirements 1
- Resource allocation decisions 1
- Baseline characteristic summaries in quality improvement monitoring 1
- Enrollment and accrual tracking in clinical settings 1
The mean is explicitly identified as the appropriate measure for summarizing continuous variables like case counts in clinical reporting. 1 When presenting clinic volume data, report the mean with standard deviation for normally distributed data, or median with range/interquartile range only if the distribution is demonstrably skewed. 1