Optimizing patient safety is a universally laudable goal. However, despite increased patient, health care professional, payer, and media attention, progress has been slow and difficult. On Sunday, October 4, 2015, the Surgical Outcomes Club convened a patient safety panel at its 11th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago, Illinois. The goal of the session was to emphasize that patient safety efforts require a uniform, systematic, evidence-based approach. This Viewpoint incorporates the major themes of the session—developing reliable measures of surgeon performance, real-world methods for continuous improvement and learning, and opportunities for incorporating the principles of implementation science into patient safety efforts.