Table 6 includes a list of the new measures and their rationale. Four of the quality measures are structured in a typical format in which the goal is to seek a score of 100%. However, 3 of the new quality measures (QM-5, QM-6, and QM-7) are safety measures and, in those, the goal is to seek a score of 0% (eg, 0% use or prescription of an inappropriate treatment reflects an optimal quality of care). For more detailed information on the measure construct, please refer to the detailed measure specifications summarized in Appendix A. 4. Areas for Further Research The writing committee recognizes that the ultimate measure of performance lies in the assessment of outcomes, such as mortality (in-hospital or 30-day), health status, and other outcomes (recurrent MI, urgent repeat revascularization). However, the complexity associated with adjustment for the large number of patient characteristics that both influence treatment decisions and impact mortality make these mea- sures less attractive to use. Thirty-day risk-adjusted AMI mortality has been used by CMS for payment incentives and in public reporting. The impact of these and other measures on hospital quality should be the focus of future research. The committee also realizes that many measures are already topped-out and can be retired to minimize abstraction burden. Additional research should examine the impact of dropping such measures. Furthermore, continuous research to examine temporal trends and disparities (ie, with respect to sex, age, ethnicity) in the achievement of performance and quality measures will help guide future revisions as well as the implementation of the current set. 