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Previous Volume 357:1175-1177 September 20, 2007 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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On May 8, 2007, one of the best-known quality measures in health care was put to rest. The percentage of patients with acute myocardial infarction who receive a prescription for beta-blockers within 7 days of hospital discharge has been used to evaluate U.S. managed care plans since 1996. This measure will no longer be reported by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) because it is simply no longer needed — a development that offers encouragement and important lessons.

The data in the graph show why the NCQA Committee on Performance Measurement voted unanimously to retire the beta-blocker measure. A . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Source Information

Dr. Lee is network president at Partners Healthcare System, Boston, cochair of the Committee on Performance Measurement for the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and an associate editor of the Journal.

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