The National Quality Forum (NQF) and the Joint Commission have awarded the 2014 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality at the National Level to the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program® (NSQIP), which helps participating hospitals and physicians measure and improve the quality of surgical care.
The award honors the late John M. Eisenberg, MD, MBA, former administrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Since the ACS, an NQF Member organization, launched NSQIP more than 10 years ago, its data have been used in more than 600 peer-reviewed articles, many of them highlighting how NSQIP has reduced surgical complications, improved surgical outcomes, reduced costs, and saved lives. NQF spoke recently with award recipient Clifford Ko, MD, director of the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care at the American College of Surgeons.