Clifford Ko, MD, MS, MSHS

Chicago, IL

Professor of Surgery and Health Services, UCLA School of Medicine; UCLA School of Public Health

Represented: Clinicians

Clifford Ko, MS, MD, MSHS, is the Director of the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care at the American College of Surgeons. He oversees all the quality improvement programs, including the Bariatric Surgery Accreditation Program, the Cancer Accreditation Program, the Trauma Verification Program, the Surgeon Specific Registry, the Pediatric Surgery Verification Program, and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP). He is the Director of ACS NSQIP.

His work focuses on surgical quality, including measurement, process improvement, and high reliability. He has served in advisory roles to national/international efforts for achieving higher quality and safety including the WHO, the IOM, and the National Quality Forum, among others. He has received grant funding from the NIH, the CDC, the American Cancer Society, CMS, AHRQ, and the VA. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and is frequently invited to speak nationally and internationally.

Ko served as a member of the Advisory Panel on Communication and Dissemination Research from Fall 2015 to Fall 2017, when it was integrated into the Clinical Effectiveness Decision and Science (CEDS) Advisory Panel. Ko served on the CEDS Advisory Panel from Fall 2017 to Fall 2018.