Direct observation of teamwork during surgical procedures revealed that poor teamwork was associated with higher rates of postoperative complications and overall mortality, even after adjusting for preoperative risk. Though suboptimal teamwork is a recognized problem in the operating room, this study is one of the first to directly link team behavior to patient outcomes. One method of improving teamwork, crew resource management training, has been extensively evaluated in a variety of clinical settings. A near miss resulting from poor teamwork is illustrated in a recent AHRQ WebM&M commentary.