Cliff Coleman
MD, MPH
Cliff Coleman is a physician and international expert in the field of health literacy. His award-winning work focuses on improving health literacy and clear communication training for healthcare professionals through systems approaches, including curriculum design and evaluation.
Cliff is a Professor of Family Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Medicine, where he serves as Clinical Thread Director for education on health communication, professionalism, and ethics. In 2021, Cliff became the inaugural Doris and Mark Storms Endowed Chair in Compassionate Communication at the OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care. He also chairs the OHSU Health Literacy Workgroup, which aims to help OHSU become a health literate organization.
Cliff practices at OHSU’s Richmond Clinic, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Portland. He attended on the OHSU Inpatient Service for 17 years. Cliff received his bachelor’s in psychology from Dartmouth College, a Doctorate of Medicine from Stanford University, and completed a dual residency in Family Medicine and Public Health & Preventive Medicine at OHSU, with a Master's of Public Health from Portland State University in 2004.
In his spare time, Cliff enjoys skiing, hiking, traveling, and exploring the food, arts, and music scenes.
