Because visual inspection cannot reliably distinguish certain skin discolorations from skin cancers, dermatologists at clinics have needed to perform tests of skin tissue taken from patients. At Westville Hospital, dermatological diagnostic costs were reduced by the purchase of a new imaging machine that diagnoses skin cancer in such cases as reliably as the tissue tests do. Consequently, even though the machine is expensive, a dermatological clinic in Westville is considering buying one to reduce diagnostic costs.

Which of the following would it be most useful for the clinic to establish in order to make its decision?

• AWhether the visits of patients who require diagnosis of skin discolorations tend to be shorter in duration at the clinic than at the hospital  
• BWhether the principles on which the machine operates have been known to science for a long time  
• CWhether the machine at the clinic would get significantly less heavy use than the machine at the hospital does  
• DWhether in certain cases of skin discoloration, visual inspection is sufficient to make a diagnosis of skin cancer  
• EWhether hospitals in other parts of the country have purchased such imaging machines