This past December, Newton, Mass.-based Atrius Health — the largest independent non-profit physician group in Massachusetts — was officially selected as a Pioneer Accountable Care Organization. In an effort to change the way patients and costs are managed in the healthcare system, Atrius Health is taking on a large responsibility — one that Gene Lindsey, MD, president and CEO of Atrius Health, takes very seriously.

Standardization is a buzzword often thrown out when healthcare providers are looking to reduce costs. Through this technique, physician groups, hospitals and surgery centers have seen costs drop and revenues increase by reducing inventory on-hand and often allowing centers to better leverage contracts that are currently in place. The process may seem simple for smaller groups, but can you standardize medical-surgical supplies across a large practice?