* § 2999-d. Commissioner's workgroup. 1. The commissioner shall, within ninety days of the effective date of this title, convene and chair, directly or through a designee or designees, a workgroup including but not necessarily limited to representatives of statewide and regional health care provider associations, health care plan associations and conferences, hospital representatives, consumers, labor and self-insured employers. The commissioner shall consider recommendations and criteria developed by the workgroup in making determinations under this title. 2. The workgroup shall seek consensus on clinical measures and measurement criteria necessary and appropriate to achieve improvement in quality performance by providers in delivering health care services; further, it shall develop metrics to be utilized by demonstration projects selected pursuant to the provisions of this title which will, when implemented:

(a) promote the use of best practices through the development of broadly agreed upon evidence-based performance measures;

(b) improve care coordination through the participation of multiple stakeholders;

(c) institute long-term quality improvement;

(d) encourage appropriate utilization of health care services and improve health outcomes through the use of evidence-based medicine practice guidelines; and

(e) promote self-management by consumers through the implementation of patient-specific metrics and resource supports for consumers. 3. In its recommendations, the workgroup shall give consideration to the appropriate number of participants in each demonstration project as well as the geographic boundaries of each demonstration project. * NB Expired April 1, 2011