Innovation

The GRPro 2.1 is a cold and compression therapy unit that provides optimal therapeutic benefits following injury or surgery. The system combines cryotherapy with intermittent compression to help reduce fluid and limit bleeding within the joint. In effect, this helps to minimize the amount of pain and swelling experienced by the patient. Furthermore, the system helps to reduce opioid consumption, increase post-op range of motion, and as a result satisfaction with the recovery process. The technology was first developed in 2016 by Mark Bruno, whose mission was to reduce the number of time patients spent in the hospital following the completion of an operation. This is significant because the company’s values directly align with Sustainable Development Goals number three and seventeen. First, good health and well-being, the GRPro 2.1 system provide faster and more effective cooling compared to the traditional RICE (Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation) method as well as other similar devices. That means that people who implement the help of this technology will be able to recover more successfully than ever before. Additionally, as a result of the fact that the technology reduces the need for opioid use in the recovery process means that fewer people will become addicted to those drugs. Second, partnerships for the goals, Heal Faster is primarily a distributing company and thus creating partnerships is fundamental to their business. The company works with an assortment of orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and athletic trainers in order to help facilitate the success of individual recovery. Through these partnerships, the product can reach a wider consumer base and as a result, help more people overall.

Inspiration

Prior to joining Heal Faster Kevin Tobin worked at Dalhousie University as a Senior Manager for the Department of Athletics and Recreational Services. Alongside his role at Heal Faster, Kevin continues his position at East Coast Capital as a Director of Business Development. With a background in sports management and sports development, Kevin was inspired to join Heal Faster to help make a meaningful impact on Canadian health and wellbeing. Through his prior work experience at Dalhousie University Kevin made connections in the healthcare industry, specifically in orthopedic medicine. These connections are one of many reasons why the company approached Kevin to be their Atlantic Canada representative. As a small national company, Heal Faster needed Kevin’s help to increase their product reach and help more Canadians “recover like a pro”. “After reviewing data, information, and clinical studies, and with my contacts in the orthopedic world here locally, I consulted some of the orthopedic surgeons and said this is wonderful stuff. It’s the wave of the future of home recovery” Kevin Tobin. Heal Faster's products and mission to help society recover safely and successfully appealed to Kevin’s values and passion for the sports industry. Along with safe recovery, Heal Fasters Game Ready product line helps to reduce the amount of time that patients need to spend in hospital recovery rooms or in vehicles traveling to and from physiotherapy. This indirectly helps the environment by reducing hospital and vehicle emissions. Kevin has been responsible for the innovation of the distribution of this technology. Heal Faster's distribution goal is to have product delivery within 24 hours across the entire country, reducing distribution times allows these products to gain more reach in the patients they serve.

Overall impact

The company and its innovations of distributing Heal Faster products are committed to helping athletes, patients, weekend warriors, and health-minded individuals to recover safely and successfully post-surgery. In the short term Heal Faster was able to create a logistics flow that created a way to quickly deliver their product line to patients all over the country and provided an easy way for payment and delivery by partnering with a third party for patients to get quick delivery and service of Heal Faster products. This innovation was also very beneficial as Covid hit and patients could not receive in-person treatments post-surgery, so the product line provided by Heal Faster made treatment and recovery at home for patients easily accessible even though the country was shut down due to the pandemic.

In the long term, this innovation of at-home recovery and treatment will become more and more accessible to those recovering from surgeries and change the recovery process from paying for weekly or daily physiotherapy appointments to a one-time cost for a product that requires no additional travel and can be used from the comfort of your own home. The innovation of logistics behind the company is going to be the biggest benefit in the long run, as the company grows in awareness and popularity through patients being able to have this fast delivery and logistic system, patients won't have to wait long periods of time to receive their products.

Business benefit

Being the largest producer of at-home recovery, this company has solved many issues with standard therapeutic practices. In terms of attaining SDG goal 3, there is a high demand for post-surgery treatment, but the operation was very inefficient. Product lines such as Game Ready and Normatec made these devices very accessible to consumers. The health care system benefited from this since it reduced in-house patients and allowed treatment to be done from home with stress-free delivery. This is very important as many locations have a surplus of patients compared to the number of beds available for recovery specifically.

Not only does it benefit good health, but it also reduces gas emissions that would have been wasted commuting to and from the hospital suite and home which in most instances can be a large distance and can be done daily. Lastly, the patient’s well-being also benefits from this company, allowing them to recover in the comfort of their own home as devices are brought directly to you and set up which simplifies the whole process and removes most worries that a patient would have regarding the anxiousness and fear of postoperative protocols. With all these tasks that need to be performed, the company has created working opportunities for people with many different educational backgrounds in a growing industry that is expected to grow substantially in the future.

Social and environmental benefit

The Game Ready product line was designed to help increase the effectiveness of recovery following an injury or surgical procedure. The technology has proven to provide deeper-penetrating and longer-lasting results compared to similar devices of its kind. The product specializes in limiting the amount of bleeding and swelling that occurs in a patient's joints. Therefore, the device is targeted toward individuals who have experienced any type of significant injury to any of the major joints in the human body. The effectiveness of this product line mitigates the need for postoperative opioid prescription while also ensuring an adequate pain management plan for patients. According to Julio Fiore, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at McGill University “approximately six percent of surgical patients who are opioid-naïve become persistent opioid users after receiving a prescription at surgical discharge” (Landry . F, 2022). Game Ready will therefore greatly contribute to reducing the number of people affected by opioid addiction as a result of pain medication. The revolutionary systems integrate four evidence-based therapeutic modalities that quickly get Canadians back to what matters. “The Game Ready unit was simply amazing. Had ACL reconstruction and used the system faithfully for 2 weeks. Combined with following rehab protocol to the letter I was well ahead of the normal recovery schedule” David, Heal Faster customer (Heal Faster, 2022). As a Canada-wide company, Heal Faster provides services and products to anyone across the country within 24 hours. In order to make this commitment to their customers, Heal Faster partners with many local and national orthopedic associations as well as provincial sport therapy clinics and sports teams. Within Atlantic Canada, partnerships include Atlantic Provinces Orthopedic Association, Canadian Sports Centre Atlantic, and Cove Physio. Not only is Heal Faster benefiting Canadian's health, but they are also indirectly lowering hospital emissions by reducing patients' stays after surgery.

“Approximately six percent of surgical patients who are opioid-naïve become persistent opioid users after receiving a prescription at surgical discharge. In addition, of all opioid tablets obtained by surgical patients, up to 70 percent go unused and become a readily available source for diversion,” says Julio Fiore, who is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at McGill University. “Given this alarming situation, it is urgent to mitigate postoperative opioid overprescribing while ensuring adequate pain management for patients” (Landry . F, 2022).

Sources:

Heal Faster. (2022, March 24). GRPRO 2.1 - David's Review. Game Ready. Retrieved from https://healfaster.ca/game-ready/grpro/

Landry, F. (2022, June 20). Taking opioids at home after surgery: More harms than benefits. McGill University Health Centre. Retrieved from https://muhc.ca/news-and-patient-stories/research/taking-opioids-home-after-surgery-more-harms-benefits#:~:text=%E2%80%9CApproximately%20six%20per%20cent%20of,a%20prescription%20at%20surgical%20discharge

Interview

Kevin Tobin, Orthopaedic Sales Consultant

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