Market Challenges And Opportunities

Durable Medical Equipment Market – Driver

Increasing number of hospitals, surgical and outpatient procedures, home healthcare services is expected to result in increasing adoption of DME during the forecast period. For instance, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the home health aides and personal care aides are expected to increase by 13 million in 2020 (a 70% increase from 2010). In addition to this, the organization predicted that home healthcare employment is expected to grow at a rate of 55.0% from 2006 to 2016, thus accelerating growth of this market.

Rising number of patients that require long-term therapy, drug delivery, and related products is expected to propel growth of the durable medical equipment market. Increasing prevalence of chronic conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, neurological disorders, and gynecological disorders is leading to high demand for long-term care at home care settings and hospitals and this is expected to facilitate demand for durable medical equipment. For instance, according to the CDC, 2015, around 800,000 people in the U.S. died due to stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

Furthermore, driven by the ageing demographic, there is a huge drive to develop equipment that can help to treat age-related conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and other lifestyle disorders as early as possible. Therefore rising geriatric population is important factor supporting growth of the DME market. For instance, according to United Nations Organization, there were an estimated 962 million people aged 60 years or over in the world in 2017, comprising 13% of the global population and this population is continuously growing at a rate of about 3% per year. Currently, Europe has the highest percentage of population aged 60 years or over (25%).