Kinomatic today announced that it will bring March 2 A Million, the opioid-reduction initiative founded by its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Andrew Wickline, to a national audience as a nonprofit. The organization’s aim is one million orthopedic surgeries performed with little or no reliance on opioids.
After a total knee replacement, patients are commonly prescribed around 110 opioid pills.[1] In a study of nearly 9,000 hip and knee replacement patients, about one in eleven who had not been taking opioids beforehand were still using them 10 to 12 months after surgery.[2]
Under Dr. Wickline’s protocol, 86% of knee replacement patients in his first prospective cohort needed 10 or fewer opioid pills through 12 weeks.[1] In his most recent study, 98% of hip and 89% of knee replacement patients who had not been taking opioids before surgery did not fill an opioid prescription afterward.[3]
The protocol rests on more than a decade of Dr. Wickline’s research and a simple clinical premise: less swelling means less pain. Its more than 40 evidence-based decisions span pre-operative education, surgical technique, compression and cold therapy, nutrition, and structured recovery support, and surgeons can adopt them within their existing practice.
“For too long, recovery has been the forgotten phase of joint replacement,” said Dr. Wickline.
More than 70 surgeons have enrolled to date, treating over 3,400 patients. The new March 2 A Million website is now live, where surgeons can enroll their practice and patients can find a surgeon who offers low- or no-opioid recovery.
Kinomatic is operationalizing Dr. Wickline’s protocol through its RESTORE offering.