Our Mission

at OCRI's Opioid Reduction Initiative

We are preventing narcotics from entering homes and lowering the risk of opioid addiction by educating the public and healthcare professionals about OCRI’s groundbreaking opioid-free surgery research.

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Since we embarked on this endeavor in 2017, OCRI found opioid-free surgery to be safe and effective for managing pain during and after some orthopedic procedures.

Opioid Free Surgery Research

Opiod free surgery

Traditional surgery

Key Research Takeaways

We found a safe and effective opioid alternative during and after surgery.

Starting at 12 hours after surgery, patients in the opioid free group had significantly less pain than the patients that took opioids.
Patients in the opioid free group were significantly more comfortable at 12 and 24 hours after surgery.
At 6 weeks, patients in the opioid free group were more satisfied with their pain control.

Dive into Research

Why it is so important that we find alternatives to opioid use during surgery?

OrthoCarolina Research Achieves Landmark Success in Opioid-Free Surgical Recovery

Breakthrough research from the OrthoCarolina Research Institute sets new standard for pain management CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The OrthoCarolina Research…

What’s next for OCRI’s opioid reduction initiative?

The Need The opioid epidemic is widely known to be a major problem in our community and around the country.…

How OrthoCarolina uses Epic to reduce opioid prescriptions during and after surgery

Epic is an Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems used worldwide, and by OrthoCarolina, a large privately-owned orthopedic practice based in…

Help Us Discover Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic

Unidentified breakthroughs in combatting the opioid epidemic are just waiting to be discovered, but we can’t do it without the support of generous people like you.

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Our Mission

at OCRI's Opioid Reduction Initiative

Resources

Patients

Healthcare Professionals

Research