The goal of the Carolinas Opioid Reduction Effort (CORE) Project strategy is to find alternatives to opioids and disseminate findings to patients, providers, and healthcare systems in the Carolinas and beyond. The project focuses on reducing avoidable opioid prescribing and consumption in elective orthopedic surgery.
The CORE Project is a clinical trial involving hundreds of patients from multiple orthopedic subspecialty clinics within OrthoCarolina — Foot & Ankle, Hand, Hip & Knee, Spine, and Sports Medicine.
This initiative has developed out of a study that was conducted by Dr. Nady Hamid for patients needing a total shoulder arthroplasty. Patients in that study gave consent to be placed into a group receiving a non-opioid, multi-modal pathway. Results from that smaller study showed that treating patients without opioids was a safe and effective way to manage post-operative pain following total shoulder arthroplasty.
Starting in March 2018, OrthoCarolina Research Institute expanded the trial across different types of orthopedic surgeries and to include more patients. Patients who give consent to participate in the multi-subspecialty clinical trial will either be randomly (like flipping a coin) placed into a group receiving their surgeon’s standard pain medication protocol or into a group receiving a non-opioid, multi-modal pathway.
This study is being funded through a multi-year research grant awarded by the Duke Endowment.