6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of deriving the plurality of first HQMs comprises calculating a numerator representing a number of encounters in the first normalized patient data that satisfy selection criteria of a numerator portion of each of the first HQMs, and calculating a denominator representing a number of encounters in the first normalized patient data that satisfy selection criteria of a denominator portion of the first HQMs.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of deriving the plurality of first HQMs comprises calculating a numerator representing a number of encounters in the first normalized patient data that satisfy selection criteria of a numerator portion of each of the first HQMs, and calculating a denominator representing a number of encounters in the first normalized patient data that satisfy selection criteria of a denominator portion of the first HQMs. 8. The method of claim 6 , the step of deriving the plurality of first HQMs further comprises generating a plurality of lists containing encounter data entries obtained from the first normalized patient data where each of the entries represents an encounter that satisfies individual selection criterion of the selection criteria from at least one of the numerator portion and the denominator portion.