Cross-functional teams in health care organizations.

Cross-functional teams in health care organizations provide a comprehensive view of problems and are highly useful in designing and implementing improvements in work processes. Several potential obstacles may impede team progress, but these can be overcome. Cross-functional teams must develop norms that guide the interactions of team members. Individual team members must display behaviors that serve task accomplishment and team spirit. The promise of cross-functional teams for health care organizations is great. These promises, however, will not be fulfilled without the positive support of health care supervisors.