MEDICAL PENDANTS MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Global Medical Pendants Market Drivers:

• Growing geriatric population: The growing geriatric population across the world is a major driver for the growth of the medical pendant market. As per data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22% between 2015 and 2050. The number of persons aged 60 years or over is expected to more than double, from 901 million globally in 2015 to nearly 2.11 Bn in 2050. This increase in the ageing population implies higher healthcare needs and necessitates remote patient monitoring solutions.
• Increasing number of hospitals and healthcare facilities: The medical pendant market has been witnessing significant growth over the past few years owing to the increasing number of hospitals and healthcare facilities across the globe. As more number of hospitals are being established with advanced medical equipment and operating rooms, the demand for medical pendants has also risen substantially. The growth in elderly population worldwide who are more prone to critical illnesses has also contributed to this growth. According to the data by the WHO, the number of people aged 65 years and above is projected to increase from 727 million in 2020 to 51 billion in 2050 globally. This rising geriatric population will elevate the need for advanced medical devices and intensified healthcare services. More hospitals with super specialty departments are being established to cater to the needs of these patients. This increasing focus on providing quality medical services has spurred the demand for medical pendants across hospitals.
• Stringent safety regulations: Stringent safety regulations are a major factor driving the growth of the medical pendant market. Governments worldwide have introduced stricter norms and standards to ensure the maximum safety of patients and healthcare workers. This has increased the demand for reliable emergency call systems within medical facilities. For example, Joint Commission International (JCI), a non-profit established to improve quality and safety in healthcare, requires accredited facilities to have an effective emergency response mechanism in place. Their 2022 patient safety goals specifically mention the need for caregivers to be able to contact urgent assistance through medical pendants or alarm devices in different units including ICUs, operation theatres, etc. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) patient safety guidelines published in 2021 highlight immediate access to emergency assistance as a core element of safety. They recommend medical pendant systems for patients across settings from community health centers to large multi-specialty hospitals.
• Technological advancements: The medical pendant market is experiencing significant growth driven by advancements in remote patient monitoring technologies. With patients preferring to receive medical care at home rather than hospitals, there is a growing need for devices that allow remote supervision and emergency assistance. Technological developments are helping to fulfil this need and drive further the adoption of medical pendants. According to the World Population Ageing report released by United Nations in 2020, the global population aged 65 years and above is projected to more than double its size to reach nearly 1.52 Bn in 2050. Advancements in medicine and standards of living are also seeing populations worldwide having increased life expectancy. With chronic diseases rising among the elderly, technologies like AI-powered medical pendants providing 24/7 health monitoring will see a growing demand as they enable independent living. The growth of telemedicine due to the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the adoption of remote monitoring solutions.
• Growing need for improved healthcare infrastructure: The need for improved healthcare infrastructure across the world has been steadily rising over the past few years. With growing populations and aging demographics in several developing and developed countries alike, the pressure on existing medical facilities and resources has increased tremendously. This has positively impacted the growth of the medical pendant market. Medical pendant systems are designed to provide easy communication between patients and caregivers for emergency assistance or help. They are helpful for the elderly or those recovering from illnesses/surgeries who need to call for assistance when feeling uneasy or in discomfort. With limited healthcare budgets, more hospitals and nursing homes are adopting these low-cost systems that allow patients to summon a nurse or doctor with just a press of a button instead of installing expensive nurse-call bells or audio/visual monitoring in all rooms.

Global Medical Pendants Market Opportunities:

• Emergence of IoT in the healthcare industry: The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the healthcare sector presents a great opportunity for growth in the medical pendant market. IoT technologies allow for real-time monitoring of patients' vital signs from anywhere. Remote patient monitoring enabled by wearable medical devices and sensors connected to telehealth platforms empowers independent living for elderly and disabled patients. These medical pendant systems integrated with biosensors can track metrics like heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and physical activity of patients around the clock. The data is transmitted wirelessly to doctors and caregivers. This gives timely alerts in case of emergencies like falls or irregularities detected in vital parameters. For example, a 2019 report by the United States Department of Health and Human Services found that remote patient monitoring programs led to a 25% reduction in hospital readmissions among patients with chronic diseases. This signifies how IoT driven medical pendants can help lower healthcare costs in the long run.
• Growing medical tourism in developing countries: The growth of medical tourism in developing countries provides tremendous opportunities for expansion in the medical pendants market. As healthcare costs continue to rise significantly in developed nations, more patients are travelling abroad for elective procedures and specialized treatment. This trend allows hospitals and clinics in developing regions to boost revenues while providing high-quality care at a fraction of the price. Countries like India, Thailand, Mexico, and Turkey have emerged as popular medical tourism hubs, attracting hundreds of thousands of international patients annually across several medical disciplines. For instance, according to India's Ministry of Tourism, medical visa arrivals grew from over 200,000 in 2018 to nearly 550,000 in 2021. This rise in foreign patients means greater demand for state-of-the-art medical facilities, equipment, and technologies to ensure treatment adherence and care continuity. Medical pendants are indispensable devices that allow timely access to nursing or emergency assistance. With growing numbers of elderly international clients seeking treatment, medical pendants provide crucial fall detection, ambient monitoring, and emergency call functionality.
• Increasing healthcare expenditure: Healthcare expenditure has been consistently rising globally, which indicates a positive potential for the medical pendant market. According to data from the World Health Organization, the global healthcare spending increased by 9.8% annually between 2000 and 2019 reaching US$ 8.3 trillion in 2019. This trend reflects the growing focus on improving access to quality healthcare as countries endeavor to enhance citizen well-being.

Global Medical Pendants Market Restraints:

• High cost of pendant systems: The high cost of pendant systems has been a major restraint for the growth of the medical pendant market. Pendant systems are integral medical equipment used in operation theatres, ICUs, and other clinical areas for providing infrastructure to support medical equipment. However, the development and installation of pendant systems requires substantial upfront capital investments, which many healthcare facilities especially in developing regions find prohibitive.
• Lack of training to operate medical pendants: Lack of proper training to operate medical pendants is one of the major factors restraining the growth of the medical pendant market. Medical pendants are emergency response systems used by patients who live alone or need emergency assistance. However, many patients and elderly people are hesitant to use medical pendants as they find the devices complex to use, especially during medical emergencies. Operational complexity acts as a barrier for mass adoption of these life-saving devices. Medical pendants require users to properly configure the devices, understand various button functions, and respond appropriately during emergencies. Panic settings, fall detection features, geo-tagging capabilities and two-way voice communication can overwhelm users who have not received adequate training. Even simple tasks like replacing batteries or charging the devices regularly need guidance. With rising aging population globally, more and more elderly people are at risk of not getting timely medical assistance due to lack of confidence in operating advanced medical alert systems.
• Dearth of skilled healthcare professionals: The lack of trained and skilled healthcare professionals is significantly hampering the growth of the medical pendant market. While medical pendant systems offer huge benefits like improved patient monitoring and safety, their widespread adoption requires an adequate number of nurses and doctors who understand how to utilize these advanced tools. Currently, there is a major shortage of healthcare workers across the globe. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030 there will be a projected shortfall of over 18 million healthcare professionals worldwide including doctors, nurses, midwives, and other health workers. This shortage is more acute in developing nations where healthcare resources are already limited. With fewer trained medical staff on the ground, hospitals find it challenging to properly deploy and leverage new technologies like medical pendants. The staff is overburdened attending to basic duties and does not have the bandwidth to learn complex equipment. This acts as a deterrent for hospitals to invest in supplementary systems despite obvious clinical merits.